


Dark Fate

by EllaBurnella



Series: Dark Reylo Series [3]
Category: Frankenstein - Mary Shelley, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Genre: 1700s, Alternate Universe - Dark, Armitage Hux Being An Asshole, Arranged Marriage, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Dark Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Forbidden Love, Gothic Romance, Horror, M/M, Mad Scientist, Mystery, Protective Ben Solo, Protective Rey (Star Wars), Science Experiments, Tragedy, Unethical Experimentation, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:20:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 68,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25861987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllaBurnella/pseuds/EllaBurnella
Summary: Armitage Hux has finally done it. After years of unrelenting research, he has discovered the secret of life and death. And he has found the perfect corpse to perform upon. Nothing could go wrong.But the arrival of Rey Palpatine, his bride to be since childhood, seems to send the world within the Hux manor into chaos. Chaos that sees the violent corpse brought back to life intent on a murdering spree, forcing Hux and his assistant, Finn, to do everything they can to keep him hidden from the rest of the house.But once Rey stumbles upon the secret laboratory beneath the house of the man she is to marry, the living monster in the basement catches sight of her. And he won't be kept away from her easily.A tale of horror, murder, treachery, and a most unusual romance.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Dark Reylo Series [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1746082
Comments: 27
Kudos: 84





	1. Chapter 1

The sounds of the streets at night send a numbing calm over Finn as he waits nervously outside the secret door leading into the basement of the house of Armitage Hux. It's late, as it usually is when they meet like this, no fear of any prying eyes. Simply the gentle roll of a carriage every now and then belonging to a Lord or Lady returning home late. 

For almost a year now, Finn has waited like this in the night, fearing that one day it may not be Hux that returns back, but an officer demanding to be let into the laboratory Finn is currently guarding, ordering to see the slew of equipment that has been aiding in Hux’s odd experiments that have been taking place over this past year. 

Hux had let him in on these strange experimentations long ago, when he had returned here to his home while on break from his schooling in Ach-To. Finn had been in charge of overseeing the house while he was away, and therefore he supposed he was the closest thing Hux had to a trustworthy companion. He needed much help with his plans after all. 

Hux’s family had been kind enough years ago to take Finn in when he was in dire need of a home and a job, and in doing so, taught him how to understand all the complicated methods of science. Brendol Hux had been one of the greatest doctors in D’Qar, and his son was following not far behind him. Armitage therefore took the chance to include Finn in a lot of his lessons, which he has greatly appreciated ever since. 

Finn had been hopeful once Hux had explained his vision, the desire to reanimate the dead back to life, to return stolen loved ones back from the grave. Finn hadn’t honestly believed him at first, until Hux had shown him his extensive notes and theories, thousands of books and pages that proved he was indeed on to something. 

He assisted him all throughout his break from college, helping to expand his theories, getting closer and closer to a solution. Finn had done as promised and didn’t speak a word of it to anyone once Hux had returned to Ach-To for his next semester at the University, but after he had returned once again, he seemed different. 

Hux could never have been described as a warm man, but something about him felt all the more distant this time when he returned. Finn had worried that perhaps he had become discouraged, less faithful in his theory of life and death. But if anything, the man became all the more adamant about proving it to be true.

That summer, the two men worked endlessly, losing hours of sleep before they were finally successful in bringing singular organs back to life. A heart. A brain. All things Hux had thankfully been given by the University for studying purposes, otherwise the two men would have nothing to work with and would have been forced to end the experiment before it had truly begun. 

Eventually, Hux was able to acquire carcasses of animals, mice, cats and dogs mostly, after returning from another semester at college. 

This was the hardest feat yet, and took some time before the two were finally successful, reanimating a seven year old cat that had been dead for months.

They learned from this, that since the cat had died from a particular kind of poison that had attacked blood cells instead of vital organs, the only way to bring back an organism was if damage to particular organs was not severe. This proved to be a problem when trying to bring back animals that had died from old age, illnesses, or accidents. Finn however was confident that they would soon find a way around this obstacle. 

He had to admit, just seeing the previously deceased cat strolling about the laboratory as if it had simply been taking a nap, was a bit unsettling in a way. But he refused to let his fears get the best of him, knowing Hux’s work could soon lead to a world-changing discovery that could ease so much pain in the world. Finn had lost his own parents to Scarlet Fever when he was just a boy, and he knows how much of his own suffering could have been avoided if he had had the chance to be raised by family of his own rather than being forced to go out into the world and make his own way without any guidance at all.

By the time Hux was preparing to return for his final semester at the University, he took the cat, the organs, and the few mice they had managed to bring back as well, and was off, prepared to finally give his presentation to the Board of executives who would decide whether or not to fund the research, allowing it to advance further, so that one day, they could begin human experimentations. 

Finn admittedly had been a bit nervous about what people would say now that their research would be out in the open. But he knew of course, with the living proof of the organs and animals, there is no way a Board of doctors and scientists would simply turn this theory away. 

And yet, that was exactly what had happened. 

Hux returned only two days later, informing Finn of the Board’s decision to ban this research from continuing any further. 

Finn was beyond confused, while Hux was infuriated, rightfully so. 

When asking what the Board thought of the resurrected animals, Hux had told Finn that the “group of dimwits” assumed he had simply gotten live animals from the labs and was trying to pass them off as reanimated. They refused to even examine the animals to determine they were indeed the same deceased ones he had obtained from the school.

Finn was completely shocked at this news. Granted, he did not grow up in systems such as these. The only education he had ever received came from within this very house. He had no way of knowing how executives like these worked, how they thought, how they viewed things. 

He did however know how the general public might view things like this. 

Hux did indeed try sending letter upon letter to other colleges, other foundations all across the country asking for funding. But all had been informed by the University of Ach-To that his theories were unjust and not to be given an iota of attention, let alone support. 

After many days filled with Hux keeping to his room, or his office, Finn began to assume that perhaps he would drop the entire idea completely. He waited for the day Hux would finally come downstairs, declare he was returning back to finish up his last semester, and never speak of the failed venture again. 

However, when Hux did finally slink out of his isolation, he seemed more encouraged than ever.

After declaring he had dropped out of school, he informed Finn they would indeed be continuing their research until they were successful in their ultimate goal: bringing a human body back to life. 

Finn was simply thankful that Hux’s father wasn’t alive to see him like this, since the man probably would have disowned his son after hearing he had given up on graduating from the acclaimed Ach-To University after dedicating nearly ten years of his life to it, seriously damaging his chances at ever becoming a doctor. 

This had happened a year ago, and here Finn is, to this day, frightened beyond words as he is every night waiting out here like this, waiting to perform specifically banned and illegal experiments that, if discovered, could get Hux and himself a punishment as severe as execution. 

Finn isn’t sure why he is still following along in this. He owes much to Hux of course, and has been here in this research from the beginning. But now that it has all become this horrid secret, something about it feels so wrong, so unjust, even though he knows this study could lead to much good. 

But is it worth it still?

Tonight has been the most encouraging night so far. After months of Hux sneaking out into the graveyards after sundown and digging up the bodies of the most recently deceased he can find, he has informed Finn as of this morning that he has finally found one.

One that is exactly what they have been looking for, what they have been in dire need of. A body fresh enough, young enough, in the perfect condition to perform a successful experiment on. 

Finn’s heart beats a little faster when he hears the padlock on the other side of the heavy wooden doors begin to jostle. 

He takes a quick last glance over his shoulder before turning back to the doors, seeing Hux pull them open at last. 

Finn doesn’t take more than a second to shuffle inside, and Hux shoves the doors closed right after, locking the chains and padlocks up tight once again. 

“Did anyone see you?” the man asks, brushing right past him to walk further back into the laboratory without giving him a second look.

“No,” Finn replies, the same answer he is thankfully able to give every night. 

He is unable to stop himself from glancing after Hux, anxious to see what he is attending to, wondering if he will see the body laying on the table that they will be examining for the next week. 

But there is nothing there, and Finn is slightly relieved. It’s a bit distressing to be viewing a different dead body every few weeks and having to keep quiet about it. 

“Bring it here, then,” Hux orders, leaning over the table displaying the varias tubs of chemicals he’s been conconcting, reaching his hand back to wait for Finn to give him what he needs.

Finn rushes over, reaching into his coat to bring out the three vials he was ordered to retrieve from the apothecary this evening, and placing them in Hux’s waiting hand. 

He steps back and watches while Hux begins examining the vials before deciding which vat to place the contents in.

“Where… where is it?” Finn asks carefully, looking around the laboratory briefly to see if a corpse is laying around anywhere.

“I have it somewhere safe,” Hux assures him as he delicately dips the vial of light blue liquid into one of the vats before reaching down to turn up the burner. “I was serious when I told you that this is the one, Finn.”

“I believe you.” 

Hux’s eyes brighten with excitement ringing past the dark circles that had formed under his eyes months ago and haven’t gone away ever since. 

“We’re so close now,” he speaks as he carefully measures the liquid, pouring it into the large tubs of chemicals they will need to dip the body into eventually. “Closer than I’ve ever been before… I will check the organs tomorrow night. But I know they will be perfect.”

“No illness then?” Finn questions hopefully. Illness was the state of most of their other bodies, most inconveniently. 

“It is perfect,” Hux repeats. “This will be it, Finn. All we have to do now is wait for the perfect storm.”

Of course. Though they have never gotten to this point before, they determined some time ago, with their first body, that the only thing strong enough to jolt enough life back into a full human body, would be lightning harnessed from a storm. Luckily, this time of year, such storms in D’Qar aren’t completely uncommon.

“Hux, you know… you know I admire what you’re doing,” Finn begins, feeling a bit nervous about bringing up his concerns, especially at this point in their experiment. “This truly is an amazing feat… but do you not worry of the potential consequences? If we were to get caught…”

“Worrying about things like that will limit your mind, Finn,” Hux brushes the concerns aside, rising up from the table after he has finished adding the contents of the vials in with the chemicals. 

He finally turns to face him, and Finn observes how disheveled he looks, his eyes sunken in, his hair out of place, his clothing torn.

“Why should I worry about such meaningless consequences now? When I am so close to achieving a miracle that would make me akin to God?”

Rey stares out the window of the carriage nearly the entire five hours that it takes to get from the mangy orphanage in Jakku, to the grand estates of D’Qar. It’s such an amazing change, and quite jarring, especially when the bright, harsh suns of the desert have somehow melted into cloud covered skies that hardly show the sun at all. 

She knows that an even harsher change she will have to face is upon her any minute now. Soon, they will have arrived at the house of Armitage Hux, the home she will probably be staying at for the rest of her life. 

Rey’s family, the Palpatines, have been close friends with the Hux family, long before she was even born. So close in fact, that a very loose, yet desired arrangement was made for Rey to wed Brendol Hux’s only son once she came of age. 

Therefore, Rey has been engaged since the age of six, no doubt because the two families had wanted their grand fortunes to be combined into one.

Indeed, after all of Rey’s family had died of a spreading illness, their money had gone straight to the Hux family, along with the promise that Armitage Hux would have a bride in a little over ten years.

Rey has honestly never thought much of the engagement until today. She had been sent off to the orphanage in Jakku to live until the day she was of proper age to marry, as was in her parents’ will. She supposes they didn’t think it was appropriate for her to grow up in the same house as her future husband. 

Now, Rey is doing everything she can to try and remember Armitage Hux, though she had only seen him very few times whenever her parents took her along with them to visit the Hux estate. He is quite a few years older than her. Now that she is eighteen, she reckons he is closer to thirty. 

She can’t even remember if he had ever spoken to her when she had visited as a small child. Though, perhaps he had felt a bit awkward if he was old enough to understand who she was going to become to him someday in their future. 

Rey wrings her gloved hands together, feeling uncomfortable with the stifling material. All her life at the orphanage, she had dressed herself in the same ill-fitting, yet comfortable attire everyone there wore. But this morning, she had been sent five dresses, each of the most high-class nature. Another final gift in her parents’ will, to ready her for her new life as a proper young lady, rather than just an orphan. 

She chose the one that looked the most appealing to her to wear today. It is made of a lovely, shiny satin material, as they all are, and is shaded a pale pink, with long sleeves that hug all the way down to her wrists. 

She can’t recall a time she ever wore anything that covered much past her elbows. 

Unfortunately, she was also forced to wear a horrible heavy cloak over it, and was even told it would be best to remove the three buns she has always worn her hair in and change it to the more conventional style of pinning it all up into an elaborate bun and letting one curl of hair fall down her shoulder.

Rey elected to keep her own hairstyle, but is now forced to wear this hideous looking bonnet to cover it up.

And then of course, the horribly thick gloves. What is so improper, she wonders, with a woman simply being allowed to show her hands in public?

Ms. Holdo, the snobbish, uptight woman who dressed her in this appalling uniform, who is riding beside her in the carriage now, had insisted she make every attempt possible with her appearance to immediately woo her soon to be husband. 

Ever since learning about Rey’s impressive family lineage and her future with the incredibly wealthy Hux family, Ms. Holdo had made it her personal mission to raise Rey herself, or train her more like it, in the hopes that she may be compensated generously for her efforts in presenting a glowing young woman ready to be a dutiful wife. 

This is the reason Rey received far superior treatment as opposed to the despicable way Holdo dealt with anyone else at the orphanage in Jakku. 

Aside from the annoyance of Ms. Holdo’s constant meddling in her life and the fact that she has to wear these ridiculous garments, Rey isn’t sure of what her feelings are about coming to live in D’Qar.

She is sad. She will likely never return to Jakku again and never see the girls she has been with ever since she first arrived there at seven years old. But a part of her is eager, eager to prove herself that she can master this task. This is the day she has been waiting for almost all her life, what she has been preparing for. 

And knowing that someone is waiting for her, someone who has possibly been preparing for her arrival all these years as well, does bring her a little comfort that she is perhaps not as alone as she usually feels. 

Holdo had easily made Rey an outcast by treating her practically as a princess among the other orphans, so it had been a difficult endeavor trying to connect with people beyond a polite, if somewhat shallow friendship. So it will be quite a change to now have a relationship as intimate as this, but as far as Rey is concerned, it is more than welcomed. 

She is desperately nervous, however. She has never really personally interacted with a man in her life, or at least from what she can remember. She has little recollection of her life before Jakku, let alone memories of correctly interacting with those of the opposite sex. 

According to Ms. Holdo, the matter is incredibly specific. 

“Now, you remember to enunciate correctly, as I told you,” Holdo is still continuing spouting her last minute comments, as if she were readying Rey for a foot race. “If there are any others there with Mr. Hux, you will need to impress them as well. They will no doubt be giving their opinion on whether or not he should marry you.” 

Rey isn’t sure what the “proper” way to tell Ms. Holdo to stop talking would be. She’s nervous enough.

“The only other women living here will be servants and such, so you must make a meaningful impression that you are a well mannered young lady, fit to be married as soon as possible,” Holdo continues, fussing about with Rey’s overly large cloak and the ridiculous bonnet. “You recall the most important things about behaving in the presence of men such as these?”

“Speak only when it will amuse them and act as if I know as little as possible,” Rey recites back. She really isn’t sure if these rules are actually that important to follow, but she can play the part for Holdo’s sake. It won’t be long now until the woman is finally out of her life for good.

Holdo’s worrying suddenly freezes, and in turn, Rey’s heart becomes solid in her chest as the carriage is pulled to a stop, abruptly yanking her out of her world of nerves and throwing her violently back into reality. 

Rey is terrified at first that she won’t be able to move once the door is opened for her, since she can’t seem to move her hands from the awkward position they have frozen in, midway through fidgeting about with her gloves as the driver dismounts and strolls beside the rickety carriage to help the two women out. 

Once the door opens and she is hit with a wave of chilled air, it seems to shock her out of her trance, and she quickly accepts the hand the driver offers to her and steps out onto the cobblestone street, suddenly thankful for the massive cloak she had been armed with once she feels just how cold the air is here compared to the desert climate she is used to.

Gazing up at the luxurious estate, Rey sees that it is a bit further away from all the other grand houses on the street, making it slightly more private, which she appreciates. Some of the homes they passed on their way here seemed shoved together side by side. 

It looks no different from the other houses aside from that, same dark grey and brown stone, countless glass windows littering the front, heavy looking double doors sitting under an arch beyond a set of steps leading to the small porch. Some of the towers are angled in such a way that reminds Rey of a castle from Medieval times. 

“Come along now, no time to waste gawking,” Holdo snaps, yanking Rey towards the pathway leading up the stone steps toward the front doors, though Rey can tell she too is intrigued by the magnificent mansion, and it has no doubt encouraged her eagerness to see if she will be commended by this rich family for her work. 

Once they’ve stepped onto the porch, Holdo reaches and out raps the brass knocker against the dark wood for the doors while Rey tries casually straightening out her clothes, checking her posture, and going over and over all of the things she has been taught over the past ten years in preparation for this very moment. 

One of the two doors is swung open, and Rey’s breathing stops momentarily, until she realizes the man standing before them is quite a bit older. Much too old to be Armitage Hux himself, given the man’s thin white hair and the odd suit he’s wearing that clearly wouldn’t be worn by an accomplished doctor or scientist. 

“Good day, sir,” Holdo greets graciously, even bowing a bit, while Rey just stands still and silent, her thoughts racing as she tries to compose herself. “If you would be so kind as to fetch the master of the house, Sir Armitage Hux, I think he will be quite pleased to hear of the arrival of Miss Rey Palpatine.” 

The man, a butler Rey now realizes, looks a bit confused at these words, but steps aside nonetheless and welcomes the two of them in, declaring he will be only a moment while he fetches Mr. Hux. 

Rey has never seen a butler before, and she is suddenly hit with a wave of realization at what kind of life she is entering into with this marriage. A life that most young girls dream of having.

Yet, she feels she has done very little to earn it, despite her years of training. 

Once inside the house, it is much smaller than Rey had always imagined it would be. But this isn’t a disappointing discovery, since, as she looks around at the warmly decorated rooms she can peek at through opened doors along the hallway, she can already decide she will be able to make this place feel much like a home. 

It seems to be taking some effort to locate Hux, since Rey and Holdo stand at the foot of the staircase for quite some minutes until they begin hearing the sound of muffled voices coming from somewhere in the rooms above them. 

Holdo says nothing, so Rey doesn’t speak either, even when the faint voices begin to sound louder, quicker, the tone of two people arguing. 

Thankfully, before fear can begin to really settle in Rey’s mind, there is a sound of a door opening and slamming closed, and footsteps along the second floor before they descend the staircase. 

She can immediately identify the man coming into view as Armitage Hux, the sight of the bright orange shade of his hair and his pointed eyes jogging her memory slightly of how he looked when she had seen him all those years ago. 

He looks much the same. 

Hux stops before he can descend the last set of steps, staring at Rey with a look of confusion and annoyance. 

Rey quickly curtseys, her gloved hands clasped politely in front of her. 

“It is a great pleasure to finally be in your presence once again, Mr. Hux,” she greets him, filling her voice with the brightest, happiest tone she can muster. “Your home is quite lovely. I am ever so honored to be here.” 

She can’t help but stare up at him anxiously, nervous to see how he will respond to her well rehearsed greeting. 

But he doesn’t move at all. He stands as still as a statue, as if he had been caught in some void on his way down the stairs that has frozen him solidly in place. 

Rey wonders if she should say something more, but remembers how Holdo told her men can get quite pestered by women speaking nonsense to them too often. 

“Who are you?” Hux suddenly asks, looking more than pestered already at the fact that someone has dared step into his home without his knowledge. 

“Rey Palpatine, sir,” she offers, her brain working quickly to find a way to fix this, and fast. “I’m your… we’re to be… we are engaged to be married.”

She curses herself for already stumbling over her words, and she can practically feel Holdo behind her longing to stick a needle into her back. 

“The engagement, sir,” the butler speaks to Hux from a little ways up the stairs. “The Palpatine family… surely you’ll remember, your father was incredibly close with Sheev Palpatine, the richest man in Coruscant.” 

This seems to trigger some sort of memory in Hux, as he slowly nods, his eyes now looking as if he is examining Rey closely while he steps down the remainder of stairs until he is standing before her. 

“You must excuse my rudeness, but I am afraid I am in the middle of some important work,” he informs her. As he is standing much closer to her now, Rey can see in his eyes that his mind is far from here, that her presence is the least of his worries at the moment. “My butler will show you to one of the guest rooms. We can have it cleaned out to your liking at a later date. Feel free to bring all of your things in and do as you please.” 

Rey nods eagerly, expressing her gratitude and excitement, even though this is far from the welcome she was expecting. 

Hux looks as if he’s about to turn away, when he finally seems to recognize that there is another person standing there.

“And you are?” he questions, his eyebrows raised in a look equivalent to disgust. 

“Amilyn Holdo, your greatness,” the woman bows deeply once again, and Rey has to bite her lip and try not to openly roll her eyes. “I am in charge of the orphanage in Jakku, where I’ve raised your bride to be these past ten years.”

Hux now turns his look of aversion over to Rey. 

“You’re from an orphanage?” he questions. “I thought you were from a rich family.”

“All the Palpatines have passed away, sir,” the butler calls out from the staircase once again while Rey tries not to gape at her future husband in astonishment. “Scarlet Fever, if you recall…”

This news doesn’t seem to have an affect on Hux in the slightest. He seems to shrug off the information before turning back to Holdo.

“You are welcome to replenish yourself, and then you may be on your way,” is all he says to her before turning back toward the stairs and practically running back up them to get back to whatever he had been pulled away from. 

Now it’s Holdo’s turn to stand there in shock, not knowing what to do next. 

As it would seem, both she and Rey’s preparation for the past ten years seems to have been one of the grandest wastes of time in history. 

Rey reaches up to her head and yanks the loathsome bonnet off, freeing her improper hairstyle and relieving about five pounds off her attire. 

“Thank you ever so much for your thoughtful compassion all these years, Ms. Holdo,” Rey begins earnestly, though she can’t help a grin of hearty amusement at the way things have turned out for the cruel woman. “I pray you will show each and every one of the girls back in Jakku the same kindness you have shown to me throughout my time with you.” 

With a look that could possibly murder the faint of heart, Holdo whips around and bursts out through the front doors, nearly crashing right into the poor driver and sending him tumbling back down the steps as he brings Rey’s single small chest of belongings up to the house. 

After the butler has taken her case from the driver and the doors of the house close to the outside world, Rey is left to follow the butler up the stairs, deeper into the house, and into her new life.


	2. Chapter 2

Finn has stayed down in the laboratory all day while Hux remained in his office, the both of them tending to all of the final preparations that need to be made. 

A promising storm is scheduled to hit tomorrow night, and that has sent the two men into a frenzy, working more vigilantly on the body than ever, so that everything may be prepared by sundown tomorrow. 

The body has finally been laid out on the examination table, but most of it is covered in bindings, hiding it from Finn’s view. Multiple incisions had to be made in order for Hux to properly view all the organs and tissue, so everything had to be stitched and bandaged back up. 

Around five in the evening, Hux finally ventures down the stairs to the basement, unlocking the door into the laboratory and entering through the stairway entrance. 

“I was delayed,” he huffs as his explanation for being behind schedule as he brushes into the room, heading straight for the body. “Is it ready?”

“I’ve just finished mixing the chemicals,” Finn nods, gesturing over to the large glass case where all of the contents of the large vats had been poured, mixing into a single pool of light green looking liquid where the body will be soaked overnight. 

“Good,” Hux nods sharply, going over to the electrical equipment they’ve been working months to prepare. “Now, everything here must be re-analyzed. I want to go through at least three checks tonight. Nothing can go wrong tomorrow, we must be ready at a moment’s notice.”

While Hux is distracted with testing the equipment, Finn moves closer to the body. 

He longs to reach out and pull a bit of the bandages back, just to see the man’s face. To get a look at who it is they are experimenting on, who it is that they will be bringing back from the dead.

Just the thought of those words in his mind is enough to send a shiver through him, backing away from the bandaged corpse lying on the table.

He knows it’s a bad idea to get too emotionally attached to something like this. This is simply a lifeless body being used to test a scientific theory, something that has been done a million times before. 

“Hux?”

“What is it?” his employer replies, sounding more than a bit irritated as he goes about frantically checking through everything and no doubt praying that everything is still in prime condition. 

“Do you… do you know who this man is?” he asks cautiously, unsure of how Hux will respond to such an inquiry. “I mean… do you know anything about him at all? His name, his life… his family?” 

Hux’s speed slows, but he doesn’t look back at Finn or the body, keeping steady concentration on his work. 

“If you’re going to be involved in work such as this, you need to stop thinking of that body as a living soul, and start seeing it for what it is. A carcass we are working on. A mere tool that will help get us what we want.” 

Finn of course already knew this answer. He isn’t even sure why he asked.

Rey is relieved to be able to shed her cloak and gloves once she is shown to her room. It is quite comfortable, a large canopied bed up against the wall, the floor lined with a dark green patterned carpet, and a decent sized window that looks out to the front of the house. 

It’s certainly finer than her living quarters at the orphanage, to say the least. 

After spending a few moments simply strolling about her new bedroom, trying to get familiar with this setting that will soon become incredibly intimate, she goes to her trunk that has been set at the foot of her bed, and kneels down to unlatch it. 

Pulling up the lid, she gazes down to her set of clothes, the only things she now owns. She’s never really owned anything before in her life, but the responsibility of five dresses doesn’t seem too daunting. 

She takes all her dresses and places them in the wardrobe across from the bed.

As she dawdles about, placing everything and rearranging everything, she wonders about Hux the entire time.

She tries not to be so hurt that he had seemed to have forgotten completely about their engagement. She supposes someone like him who is constantly working as hard as he does on such complex things might not have time to think of something as simple as a marriage. 

Rey on the other hand had nothing to do but constantly think of it. She can’t possibly blame that on him, nor can she continue to dwell on her silly, childish expectations of a Prince Charming sweeping her off her feet and immediately declaring his love for her even though he only met her once or twice when she was a small child. 

He’s apparently never even thought about her, though she used to spend hours daydreaming or lying awake at night wondering what he would look like, how he might kiss her, or hold her. 

She shakes these foolish thoughts away once again. 

“Well, you’re certainly a new addition to this rusty old manor.”

Rey nearly falls back into the closet as she turns around quickly at the voice coming from the doorway of her room.

There is a man there, leaning against the door frame as if he’s been standing there for some time. 

He is well dressed, his suit fitted for someone from a decently comfortable family. So he isn’t one of the staff. 

His eyes are alight with curiosity as he stares at her, a small grin playing on his lips as he seems to take her in with wonder. 

His dark curls and warm eyes make for an incredibly handsome face that makes Rey suddenly feel incredibly self conscious. 

“Who might you be, fair lady?” he asks, smiling flirtatiously as Rey’s face goes red. 

“Rey Palpatine,” she introduces herself, though keeping her eyes wandering aimlessly around anywhere but towards him. “I am… I’m a guest of Mr. Hux.”

“That makes two of us,” the man grins heartily. “Well, I suppose I’m sort of a surprise guest. Our dear Mr. Hux isn’t aware of my presence yet, but I will be taking advantage of his hospitality for a time.”

Rey finds herself smiling a bit at the man’s amusing nature.

“I’m Poe Dameron,” he nods to her. “An old friend of Hux, at your service, ma’dam.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dameron,” Rey greets courteously back. 

“As it is you, but you can drop the mister. And the Dameron. I am unwed, and currently just Poe, though I’m hoping that may change sometime in our bright future.” 

Rey nods politely, unknowing how to behave with this strange man. He seems kind, and warm. Nothing at all like the cold, judging manner Rey has come to expect men to behave in. 

She awkwardly folds her hands together behind her back, expecting the man to either leave or ask something of her. 

Instead, he crosses his arms, his head tilting to the side a bit as he studies her with a look of concern.

“Don’t talk much?” he questions. 

“I don’t have much to say that would be of use,” she answers him, shrugging helplessly. 

Her lessons in social etiquette didn’t prepare her for such a situation as this. 

“Well that’s not much of an excuse.”

She gapes at him, laughing a bit in astonishment at his bluntness. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Would you like a tour of the grounds?” he asks, as if the entire interaction hadn’t even taken place. 

She’s flustered as she tries to answer, completely caught off guard by this bizarre conversation. 

“Come now, I’m sorry to say our host won’t have the time to be much of a host, so you’ll have to settle for me as your welcome party,” Poe smiles, stepping back into the hallway and offering his hand out towards her. 

She can’t say he’s wrong. After the greeting she received from her fiancé, she doubts he will be willing to entertain her for the rest of the day. And this is a certainly better option than sitting up here in this room for the rest of the day. 

She walks forward, reaching out and accepting his hand, only to have him yank her right out into the hallway, causing her to nearly topple over onto him. 

Rey isn’t sure what to expect, since no one has taken her on a tour of anything before, but she supposed it would include being shown certain rooms or items with brief explanations of what they are. 

However, the tour ends up being nothing more than her and Poe strolling around the house while he engages her in conversation.

Rey is terrified at first, being alone with this complete stranger and forced to do nothing but speak the entire time. She was in no way trained for this. She assumed her speaking would be kept to a minimum, but Poe seems to be nothing short of enthralled by everything she has to say.

But in this, she allows herself to find comfort with him. It doesn’t take long for her to determine that Poe is not out to judge her or think poorly of her. He speaks with her in just as casual of a way that any of the girls back at the orphanage would. 

So she tells him everything. How she is an orphan, that she has been engaged to Hux since she was six, that she has lived in a desert most of her life until now.

He seems interested in her life, which surprises her. She didn’t think anyone would be intrigued by a life as dull as hers. 

“So, Rey Palpatine,” he sighs as they walk through the living room, arm in arm. “You look incredibly young to be preparing to wed our beloved Hux.”

“I am eighteen today,” she answers him. “It has always been arranged that this is the day I would arrive here, since I would finally be of proper age to marry.” 

“You’ve turned eighteen today?” he questions, a look of astonishment on his face. “Well, we must celebrate!” 

Rey laughs bashfully as they move out through the glass doors leading out into the back of the house.

“The fact that I have arrived here finally is enough celebration for me,” she tells him as they step on to some sort of veranda.

It is probably the most amazing thing Rey has ever seen. 

The backyard has been made into a breathtaking garden, with lush vines and greenery crawling over all the pillars lining the veranda and the numerous pavilions scattered about the yard. 

She even spots a large forest a few feet away from the house leading out miles and miles from the looks of it. 

Nearly forgetting all about Poe’s presence entirely, Rey grabs up her skirt in her hands, running forward into the grass, feeling stone turn to soft dirt beneath her heeled boots as she runs about the luxuriant grounds.

“So this is what it takes to shoot some life into you!” Poe yells as he runs after her.

“This is magnificent!” Rey smiles as she reaches her hand out to touch against the soft petals of vibrant roses and daisies all strewn throughout patches of tall green grass. 

“Compliments of the late Mrs. Hux,” Poe nods, plucking a white rose from the bushes and holding it out to Rey, who accepts, reaching up to tuck the flower into her hair. “Finn, the man in charge of overseeing the house, decided to keep it maintained.”

“I’m glad he did.”

The two find their way to one of the pavilions, sitting on one of the long white benches, surrounded by glass walls that are covered with the wiry green vines, littered with tiny purple and blue flowers. 

“This seems an awfully bright and happy place to exist in such a grey looking land,” Rey comments, noting the absence of sun in the skies despite the healthy looking garden. 

“Things have no problem growing and flourishing around here,” Poe says, following Rey’s gaze and looking around the greenery surrounding them. “They’re probably not even as good looking as they could be, but compared to everything else around here, they look… well, magnificent. Like you said.” 

It’s quiet for a moment while Rey slowly reaches up to touch her fingers lightly against the white rose seated in her hair.

“Do you think Hux is happy about our marriage?” she asks, all facade dropped from her tone. It’s just her, Rey speaking to him now. Speaking normally, as she would with someone she’s known years, someone she doesn’t have to perform for. 

Poe sighs, leaning back on his hands as he looks out ahead of them back towards the house. 

“To be honest with you… I have never really considered Hux to be the type of a man to settle down with a wife.” 

At this point, Rey isn’t surprised by this answer. And it doesn’t give her much hope. 

But she will not let this discourage her. Not like this. She hasn’t spent years of her life preparing just to give up on the first day. 

Because if she does fail, and Hux has no interest in marrying her, he could easily dismiss her from, not only his life, but his house. And then she truly would have nothing left and nowhere else to go. 

No. That is not an option. She will woo Armitage Hux somehow, if it takes all her might and all her restraint to be the perfect wife that he will be satisfied with.

Even if she never comes to love him. 

“Poe?”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever been in love?” 

At this, he laughs, but not a lively, animated laugh. Just a reminiscent, joyous noise. 

“I am in love as we speak.”

She turns toward him, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“With who?” she questions loudly, forgetting her manners. 

He gives her a knowing grin, something romantic, loving in his eyes as he recalls something. 

“I’m afraid, my lover prefers our liaison to remain a secret,” he informs her.

“Of course. I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Believe me Miss Rey Palpatine, my hope is to one day declare our love from every rooftop in the city. But for now, rest assured I am in the midst of a great, and most exciting affair.”


	3. Chapter 3

After returning inside from the garden, Rey decides to continue exploring the house on her own while Poe goes off to his rooms. Perhaps to carry on that great affair he had spoken of. 

It is getting pretty late into the evening now, and she’s nervous if perhaps she will become lost in the great mansion, but she is able to become familiar with it quite quickly. She was always the quickest to solve puzzles and figure out problems back at the orphanage. That included being able to become familiar with mazes very rapidly. 

She finds that most rooms in the house seem to serve little real purpose. Everything is smaller versions of the grand living room, with the exception of a library, all filled with hundreds of different encyclopedias and dictionaries, more than Rey ever thought possible. How many words does one need to read about in detail?

It’s nice to see most of the cold looking stone floors and walls are covered with carpets and paintings respectively. It makes the rooms and the house feel slightly smaller, more comforting, made all the more so as the servants begin lighting candles in every room as the light fades more and more while the minutes tick by. 

When venturing around the staircase, she spots a place, hidden behind the stairs, tucked away from view, where there seems to be some sort of hole in the ground.

Stepping around to the back, she has to duck a bit to see that the hole in the ground is actually another staircase, leading down somewhere pitch black, unable to be seen unless one ventured down.

After taking a quick glance around to make sure no servants are staring off after her worriedly, Rey takes a hesitant step down towards the staircase, not knowing what she could possibly find. 

She freezes when a noise suddenly erupts from somewhere at the bottom of the hidden staircase, and a small sliver of purplish light glows from the darkness.

Rey leaps back away from the stairway once she hears the sound of a heavy door closing, and the light disappears, followed by the sound of footsteps running quickly up the steps.

A man comes into view, emerging from the darkness and slowing his pace as he steps out into the hallway, his eyes narrowing skeptically at her. 

He’s young, probably close to her age. 

“I’m… I’m sorry, Miss,” he bows his head. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced…”

“Rey Palpatine,” she greets him, offering a small friendly smile. “So it seems like there really isn’t a single person who was ever expecting me.” 

“Expecting you?” he asks, looking more and more confused by the second. “You were expected.”

Rey once again goes into the tale of why she is here, who she is and what she is supposed to do. 

She barely gets halfway through her explanation when the man’s face becomes alight with fear. 

“Good lord,” he whispers when she’s done, and now it’s her turn to become confused. “I don’t… you shouldn’t be here.”

“Pardon?”

He shakes his head, closing his eyes as he raises his hands to his temples as if trying to comprehend a most difficult problem.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes. “I mean no offense towards you, but… damn it, Hux should never have let…”

He seems to take a calming breath to steady his nerves, while Rey tries to determine what on Earth is making him react this way when she doesn’t even know this man’s name. 

“Is everything alright?” she asks, not knowing what else to say. 

He looks up at her, a kinder expression on his face as he offers her a smile in return, finally.

“I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.”

He extends his hand.

“I’m Finn, Hux’s assistant.”

“Oh, of course,” Rey smiles as she accepts his hand, and he brings it to his lips, softly kissing it before releasing her. “You are not a total stranger to me then.”

“The garden,” she continues once he gives her a quizzical look. “I heard you tend to it. It’s quite glorious, you should be very proud.” 

He grins, almost bashfully and Rey finds herself charmed by his shy nature. 

“I really don’t deserve all the credit, it’s mostly just been the gardeners tending to it lately. I’ve found most of my time filled up with assisting Hux with his studies.”

She nods slowly, a feeling of unease going through her when Hux and his work is brought up as she remembers how irritated he seemed to be earlier today when he was pulled away from whatever he is working on.

“Is Hux in the middle of important work?” she inquires. “I feel awful that I intruded in such a way, I really had no say in the matter…” 

“Please, don’t feel that way,” Finn shakes his head. “You're really no bother, actually… it would be quite refreshing to have a new guest in the house. It’s just…”

“The timing’s a bit off?” she offers. 

He nods, though he still looks a bit guilty.

“I don’t mean to offend you Miss Palpatine.”

“You needn’t bother with that. I’m just Rey.”

_Rey Hux, someday _she reminds herself. Rey Hux. Mistress of the house.__

__Something about it sounds strange, even just in her own mind._ _

__“What exactly is he working on that could make me such an inconvenience? I promise to do my best to stay out of the way, but… we have been engaged for most of my life, perhaps I could… I don’t know, help with something he may need.”_ _

__She wonders if maybe her suggestion was too bold, too early._ _

__The worried look comes back over Finn’s face._ _

__“I’m afraid Hux’s work at this moment in time is something to be kept as confidential as possible,” he clumsily explains, sounding as if he’s desperately trying to find the right way to say what he means._ _

__“Of course. Forgive me, it is none of my business.”_ _

__Finn gives her a warm, sympathetic smile as he looks upon her, before gently placing his hand against her shoulder in an odd way that makes her feel reassured._ _

__“But you are more than welcome here, Rey. You bring… a much needed hopefulness, to say the least.”_ _

__She doesn’t quite understand what he means by this, but it’s nice to hear all the same._ _

__

__Once Rey and Finn have ceased conversing, and she’s off to some other part of the house, Finn waits until she is completely out of sight before turning right back around and running down the flight of stairs to the basement, swinging the door open to the lab and bursting in._ _

__Hux looks ready to murder when he hears the door clang open, but steps back and relaxes his defenses when he sees that it’s only Finn._ _

__“What in the world do you think you’re doing, clobbering in here like that?” Hux demands as Finn lets the door close behind him, glaring at the man as he does._ _

“And what in the world are _you _doing allowing a young lady to stay in this house during all of this?” Finn fires back. “Do you have any idea how dangerous this could be?”__

______Hux doesn’t even seem bothered by Finn’s concerns, stepping back over to the work he had been doing before Finn had come back in._ _ _ _ _ _

____“I think she’s old enough to take care of herself, don’t you think so?” he replies back in an almost sarcastic quip._ _ _ _

____“Hux, anyone knowing about this is dangerous!” Finn reminds him, his tone becoming more alarmed as he steps forward to the table Hux is at, trying to get his attention. “You and I are in tremendous danger if anyone finds out about what we’ve been doing, no matter how much you’d like to deny it. And to involve a young woman… Hux, if we are discovered, there’s no way the authorities will believe she didn’t know about it. She could be punished just as much as us.”_ _ _ _

____“Have I not told you time and time again that experiments such as these will take risks?” Hux reminds him while carrying the various organs they’ve studied back and forth between the two tables, gathering up the final notes and measurements. “There will always be a danger, and if you decide to let silly little fears stop you from doing what you’re meant to, then you are a fool.”_ _ _ _

____“Am I such a fool that I would condemn an innocent woman to such a risk?”_ _ _ _

____Hux lets out a harsh sigh, slamming down his handful of notes onto the table._ _ _ _

____“Obviously I hadn’t intended things to unfold like this, but I could give a damn about it now. There is far too much to be done. Do you realize what we are on the verge of discovering?”_ _ _ _

____“Yes, I do. But some things must take precedence over the study, and that most definitely includes people’s safety. Which is why you must send Rey away for now, just until we have concluded this experiment. She shouldn’t be around such things anyway. Dead bodies robbed from the grave, all these corpses we’ve tried to bring back from the dead…”_ _ _ _

____Hux leans against the table, his heated eyes studying Finn with an odd look, some sort of cross between anger and amusement._ _ _ _

____“Have you grown weary of our methods?” he asks Finn slowly, in a warning tone. “Because I have grown weary of your constant talk of fear and consequences. Perhaps you should remove yourself from this research, dear Finn.”_ _ _ _

____Finn chooses not to relay to him that he has considered the option many times. But to leave Hux alone and free to do as he pleases with no one to keep him somewhat grounded in reality would be a most unwise decision._ _ _ _

____“Of course that isn’t what I want,” Finn assures him. “I’m only suggesting we find another place for Rey to stay for the time being. She’s your guest and your fiancé for that matter. Do you not want to make sure she is kept safe during all of this?”_ _ _ _

____Hux’s hand slams down on the table, nearly sending its contents toppling to the ground, and causing Finn to jump back away from the man._ _ _ _

____“I haven’t time to concern myself with the girl’s welfare!” he bellows, turning violently back to his work. “If she is to be my wife, she might as well start learning what living here will entail. Now as I’ve told you already, I have grown weary of this conversation and would prefer it if you take your leave, and this time, stay away until tomorrow night.”_ _ _ _

____Finn stands there a moment longer, but he knows it is no use. It’s nearly an impossible feat to reason with Hux even when he is completely devoid of stress, which is hardly ever anymore. And on a night like this, just before they are finally ready to take the biggest and possibly most important step they’ve ever taken… it’s amazing Hux is even talking to anyone._ _ _ _

____Finn exits the laboratory without another word, trudging slowly up the steps as he becomes lost in thought and worry._ _ _ _

____Despite all of this starting out with so much hope and joy, he fears it may all end horridly, for everyone involved._ _ _ _

____Perhaps he truly isn’t scientist material if he isn’t willing to put a possibly successful theory before everything else in life. And this experiment in particular, risks doing far more harm than good._ _ _ _

____Completely wrapped up in his thoughts, Finn doesn’t even see the person standing beside the top of the staircase until he feels someone grab onto his hand and yank him over until he’s practically collided right up against the person’s chest._ _ _ _

____“I thought I might find you here,” the man holding his hand grins at him while Finn panicked breathing starts to calm down._ _ _ _

____“Poe!” Finn whispers in a combination of horror and immense joy. “What are you doing here?”_ _ _ _

____“I came to see you, of course. Though, if you happen to see your boss, the official story is that I came to surprise him. If he at all cares.”_ _ _ _

____“But I thought you were back in Alderaan to go to school.”_ _ _ _

____“It took me little time to realize Alderaan is quite dull without you.”_ _ _ _

____Finn takes a quick moment to glance around and make sure there are no lingering servants near them, before turning back and leaning forward to touch his lips against Poe’s, while Poe reaches his hand up to cup the back of his neck._ _ _ _

____It briefly feels as if every bit of frightened stress that has been following Finn where he goes is lifted away in just a few seconds._ _ _ _

____But once he pulls away, he feels the looming fear immediately start to rebuild._ _ _ _

____“You really shouldn’t be here, Poe,” he sighs, trying to step back before Poe wraps his arms over his shoulders, bringing him closer again._ _ _ _

____“Finn, people are going to have to find out about us eventually,” he tells him, looking prepared to have the same discussion they’ve had so many times before. “We may as well get it over with. People can judge as much as they wish, but I certainly won’t be listening.”_ _ _ _

____“It’s not that at all,” Finn shakes his head, though his heart is warmed as it always is by Poe’s words. “It’s just…”_ _ _ _

____“It’s just, Hux has you running ragged again,” Poe finishes for him. “Finn, if all we are able to do is share a bed at night, I am still more than happy to oblige, even if your hours in the day are full.”_ _ _ _

____Finn curses himself for blushing, but this is the state Poe always somehow manages to get him in._ _ _ _

____“Actually, I’m afraid my night hours are usually occupied as well.”_ _ _ _

____“Oh, Finn,” Poe sighs dramatically, his face dropping. “You have taken another lover in my absence.”_ _ _ _

____“No,” Finn can’t help but chuckle as he lightly shoves Poe’s chest. “Lord, you are frustrating. I’m trying to be serious.”_ _ _ _

____Finn knows that Poe is unaware of the specifics of the experiment, but he does know that Hux has been working on something big over the past couple of years._ _ _ _

____He has done his absolute best to keep Poe away from everything, especially once the grave robbing had begun, but everyone who knows the man knows that Poe does whatever he wants when he wants. So trying to force him to stay away had been a draining task, and one that had obviously failed._ _ _ _

____“You aren’t pushing me away this time, my love,” Poe tells him, as if reading his thoughts. “It is far too much fun to pester you, and far too lonely to live without you.”_ _ _ _

____“Well, if I can’t get you to leave, then perhaps you may assist me in trying to get Rey to leave,” Finn suggests._ _ _ _

____“You’ve met Rey! I found her quite amusing, though it took a good few moments to let her know it was alright to speak. Lovely, isn’t she?”_ _ _ _

____“She seems very nice,” Finn agrees. “Which is why she shouldn’t stay here, not now.”_ _ _ _

____“Because of Hux’s mysterious little experiment? Well, if you two are half as secretive with her as you are with everyone else, she shouldn’t know a thing.”_ _ _ _

____There have been many times, including now, when Finn has longed to be able to share with Poe all of what has been going on. It would be such a comfort to have his advice on how to handle all of this, and it would simply be relieving to just share the burden with someone else. Someone he loves._ _ _ _

____But aside from the considerable danger that puts Poe in, Finn also knows that Hux would be furious should he find out Finn has broken their agreement that not a single soul is to know anything about the experiment until after it has been successful._ _ _ _

____In fact, if Hux happened to overhear them conversing as they are now, he’d probably rain hell down on the entire house._ _ _ _

____“It’s complicated, Poe,” Finn struggles to explain. “It is so much more complicated than you know… simply living in this house puts her in danger.”_ _ _ _

____Poe sighs, his hands moving down to circle around Finn’s waist as he looks him in the eyes._ _ _ _

____“I know how you are, Finn. You always want to make sure everyone is safe, no one is in any danger. But there are some things that are completely out of your control. I don’t know what it is that has you this afraid, but I know it must be important to you. And I can assure you that I have handled myself in many difficult situations and got out alive. And Rey seems strong willed enough to handle herself as well. Even if she does have to be married to someone as cold as our dear friend Armitage Hux.”_ _ _ _

____Finn takes a moment to consider Poe’s words, feeling as if they do indeed hold much weight, even though Poe has no idea what is really going on._ _ _ _

____“Now,” Poe speaks, standing up straighter and holding Finn’s face in his hands. “As much as I adore having these little run-ins out in the open where anyone could see us, I would prefer to have you to myself for a while, away from prying eyes.”_ _ _ _

____Before Finn can speak, Poe is whisking him off away towards the other side of the staircase, the part that leads upstairs._ _ _ _

____“By my order Finn Storm, you are not to busy yourself with Hux’s drama for the remainder of the evening,” Poe declares as he pulls him along up the stairs._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Rey is the first to dinner tonight, sitting herself on one side of the long, dark wooden dinner table that has been draped with a white lace tablecloth._ _ _ _

____The room is very silent now that all the servants have left. It’s almost a bit eerie, the sun having completely gone down, leaving nothing but blackness outside the set of long glass doors along the wall of the dining room that look out the side of the estate._ _ _ _

____The only reflections she can see in the glass are from the few candles that have been lit throughout the dining room, which are hardly enough to give a decent amount of illumination._ _ _ _

____It’s deathly quiet, and though one of the servants had promised her the food was nearly done, she hasn’t heard a single sound coming from anywhere in the house._ _ _ _

____She worries briefly that everyone has somehow disappeared, leaving her sitting here in this darkened room with nothing but the sinister dim glow of the candles that will eventually burn out, leaving her in complete darkness in this unfamiliar house._ _ _ _

____What a silly thing to imagine. Her first night here, and she’s already making up ghost stories to scare herself._ _ _ _

____She straightens up, prepared to look completely at ease whenever someone comes in. She will not be jumping in fear like a scared rabbit when she is supposed to be focusing on impressing Hux._ _ _ _

____Rey hopes tonight will be a proper chance to get to know him. After talking with Poe for some time, she feels much more comfortable with speaking freely, which will hopefully help Hux to see she is not a mindless robot who repeats the same dull things over and over, which is what she had been originally trained to do._ _ _ _

____The doors to the hallway suddenly burst open, and it does indeed make Rey jump a little, much to her chagrin._ _ _ _

____But she sees it is none other than Finn and Poe who walk merrily into the previously dark and dreary dining room, bringing along an aura that suddenly lights up the room._ _ _ _

____“Fair lady, we are ever so sorry to keep you waiting,” Poe bows before her dramatically as she laughs. “My associate here had me quite tangled up in… strenuous business.”_ _ _ _

____Rey sees Finn bite his lips bashfully as he takes a seat beside her, and she is instantly curious in the playful tension that seems to be between the two._ _ _ _

____Poe doesn’t hesitate to take a seat at the head of the table, a place Rey had assumed would be reserved for Hux. Before she can say anything though, the doors open once again, and the servants come flowing in, dinner in hand._ _ _ _

____“Finn, I am sorry to say, but you are not the only thing that keeps me coming back to this house,” Poe hums in appreciation as the course is set before them, bringing with it a warm and delectable smell that makes Rey’s mouth water._ _ _ _

____There is a large plate of turkey that glistens in the candlelight as it is placed down, a bowl of cream colored bread rolls, a platter of steaming vegetables, and a dish of some sort of orange colored pudding looking food that Rey doesn’t even recognize._ _ _ _

____“I suppose this is your welcome dinner,” Finn informs her as they start to dig into the array of delicious looking nourishment._ _ _ _

____Once all the servants have left, Rey keeps glancing back at the door, wondering when Hux is going to come striding in, praying he will be in a good mood with all this amazing food waiting for him._ _ _ _

____But as the meal goes on, she starts to realize that there is probably little chance that the master of the house will come to dinner tonight._ _ _ _

____She worries at first that it is her fault, perhaps she has done something to annoy him. Maybe he doesn’t want a guest here now, someone he doesn’t even know staying in his house, eating his food. She could be an awful inconvenience._ _ _ _

____It takes her a moment before she notices Finn and Poe’s chatter has stopped, and Poe is now concentrated on her, studying her face._ _ _ _

____“You look positively solemn,” he comments once she looks up to meet his eyes._ _ _ _

____“I’m quite alright,” she denies, plastering a smile onto her face. “The food is magnificent.”_ _ _ _

____“But perhaps you were hoping for slightly different company?” Poe suggests._ _ _ _

____“No! It is quite amusing to listen to you and Mr. Storm converse. You… sound as if you’ve known each other a very long time.”_ _ _ _

____“Not too long actually,” Finn tells her. “About three years. I met him when he first came to visit the house. He and Hux were schoolmates years ago.”_ _ _ _

____“And the rest, as they say, is history,” Poe concludes._ _ _ _

____After catching the looks Poe continues to give Finn, and the way Finn constantly tries hiding a very big smile, Rey thinks she has figured out who this secret lover of Poe’s is._ _ _ _

____“This is an outrage,” Poe suddenly declares, standing from his seat and sending his chair sliding back. “Rey, I shall go and find the master for you and demand he come entertain you. I will not have you disappointed by the rude whims of our host.”_ _ _ _

____“No!” Finn shouts, stumbling up from the table as well before Rey can insist that she is quite alright._ _ _ _

____Poe stops in his tracks, looking over at Finn with his eyebrows raised._ _ _ _

____“I can go and fetch him,” Finn announces, walking quickly past Poe, as if trying to beat him to the door._ _ _ _

____Rey and Poe watch him as he goes, marching out into the hallway and letting the doors close behind him._ _ _ _

____Poe brings his hands to his hips._ _ _ _

____“Well, there’s no stopping him now,” he shakes his head. “I don’t know Rey, we may not see any sign of either of them for the rest of the night.”_ _ _ _

____“What do you mean by that?” Rey questions as he sits back down at his spot._ _ _ _

____“They’re connected at the hip,” he tells her, stabbing at his turkey leg with his fork. “Finn’s the only one in the house ever to know about all the mysterious work Hux is doing down there.”_ _ _ _

____“Down where?”_ _ _ _

____“That basement. The secret laboratory that no one is permitted to enter, except the two of them. God only knows what’s going on down there. Scares the hell out of Finn, whatever it is they’re doing.”_ _ _ _

____He sighs as Rey stares down blankly at her food while taking in Poe’s words._ _ _ _

____“My only hope is that Finn knows it’s alright to say no every once in a while,” Poe speaks, sounding as if he’s talking more to himself than to her._ _ _ _

____A secret laboratory. Secret work. Rey wonders what in the world she has gotten herself into._ _ _ _

____It takes a few minutes, but they finally hear the sound of people moving down the hallway towards the dining room._ _ _ _

____The doors open to Finn and a very tired and frazzled looking Hux, who seems more than a bit irked at being dragged to the dinner table to eat._ _ _ _

____This is why Rey hadn’t said anything. This is twice in one day she has forced Hux away from his work in order to socialize with her._ _ _ _

____“Nice of you to join us,” Poe bellows, standing up from his seat as Hux approaches. “Recognize me, old friend?”_ _ _ _

____Hux indeed seems to immediately recognize who Poe is._ _ _ _

____“So you must be the reason Finn has been all worked up over the slightest of things,” Hux muses as a form of greeting to the man._ _ _ _

____“Happy to be of service,” Poe proclaims, ignoring the rather snobbish acknowledgement. “Please, join us in this fine meal.”_ _ _ _

____He steps aside from the chair he was previously occupying, dragging his plate away as well and sitting at the seat at the side of the table, pushing the empty plate there towards Hux’s spot._ _ _ _

____Hux looks most reluctant to sit, but he does, begrudgingly taking a small amount of food as well._ _ _ _

____Rey would never say it out loud, but Hux looks as if he could indeed use a decent amount of food._ _ _ _

____After several seconds of incredibly awkward silence, Rey takes a breath and pushes herself to start conversing. It is now or never._ _ _ _

____“The food is positively delightful, Mr. Hux,” she says, keeping her tone light and conversational rather than practiced and dull. “Do you have it brought in from somewhere? Or do you get it from the market?”_ _ _ _

____“The food delivery is not my responsibility,” Hux replies shortly. “The cook is in charge of that.”_ _ _ _

____“Some of the food is brought in from Naboo,” Finn tells her. “Mostly the delicacies, like fruits and desserts. Most everything else is simply bought at the market.”_ _ _ _

____“Though I suppose, after eating nothing but dry desert scraps, simple market food from D’Qar no doubt tastes like the finest cuisine in the world,” Poe quips as he takes a sip of wine._ _ _ _

____“Poe!” Finn gasps in alarm._ _ _ _

____“No, it’s true,” Rey nods, recalling her numerous suppers of stale bread and soggy vegetables back at the orphanage. “This is a most welcomed change.”_ _ _ _

____The silence befalls the table once again, and Rey rushes to try and salvage anything from this failing conversation._ _ _ _

____“I was told that your mother designed the enchanting garden out back,” she speaks, thinking it best to try and engage him with things she is actually interested in, rather than try and speak with him about the bromidic topics Ms. Holdo had trained her on. “I have never seen such beauty. She must have been a lovely woman.”_ _ _ _

____“She was a disgrace,” Hux answers back, seeming to feign focus on the food before him, picking at it intently. “Or so I’m told. My father refused to even wed her, her status was so low.”_ _ _ _

____He drops his fork and it clatters against the metal plate, sending a tense chill through Rey’s spine._ _ _ _

____“The only reason she lived here at all is because she had me. My father’s only son.”_ _ _ _

____Rey can tell she has most unintentionally brought up an incredibly sensitive subject. Once again, her failure is egregious._ _ _ _

____“Well,” Poe sighs, placing his hands on the table. “Who votes to change the subject?”_ _ _ _

____“Poe,” Finn speaks quietly in a warning tone._ _ _ _

____“I’d like to hear more about Rey,” Poe continues, leaning forward against the table. “After all, you are going to be living here for quite a while. For the rest of your life, if this lovely engagement works out. How are you liking these dull grey skies compared to those scorching suns in the desert?”_ _ _ _

____“Do not feel obligated to answer these questions, Rey,” Finn urges._ _ _ _

____“I… I must say, it is quite a difference to be in such… dreary coldness after baking in an unforgiving sun,” Rey replies. “I mean no offense.”_ _ _ _

____“None taken,” Poe shrugs, though the comment was meant towards Hux and Finn since they are the ones who actually live here. Still, something about Poe’s amusing response makes Rey giggle a bit. “But please, tell us about the great sand dunes of Jakku. I am told they look equivalent to waves of gold that cover the land for miles and miles…”_ _ _ _

____Thankfully, Poe is able to single handedly entertain for the remainder of the evening, bringing a much more joyful ring to the table and sparing Rey further embarrassment._ _ _ _

____It lightens Rey and Finn’s mood considerably, but Hux remains silent all throughout the rest of dinner, even through dessert, which consisted of a flavorful cream pudding that was delicately frosted with white icing, glazed with brown sugar._ _ _ _

____It seems nothing can arouse him from his distraction, whatever it may be._ _ _ _


	4. Chapter 4

Rey is sure to awaken extra early the next morning, which isn’t much trouble since it was of course difficult for her to get much sleep anyway, being in a completely new environment. 

She assumes Hux would be a person who rises quite early in the morning, perhaps earlier than any of the other servants. 

Her next resolve to get on his good side is to speak with him alone, without the pressure of others watching and listening in. Maybe he would be more comfortable if their interactions were more private.

So she leaps out of bed just when she sees a bit of light starting to hum through the cloudy skies, dressing herself in her satin sun colored dress, the one that fits the most comfortably on her, with frilly sleeves and buttons down the front. 

But the house is completely silent when she ventures downstairs. 

Rey decides to wait in the lounge, sitting comfortably on one of the well cushioned chairs, gazing out the window that looks out towards the town, watching as everything slowly comes into view as the sun comes up.

Eventually the servants start coming down, looking very surprised that she is sitting down here already, but they say nothing to her, aside from one asking her if she needs anything. 

Once again, she begins losing hope, especially once Poe joins her and finally convinces her it’s time for breakfast, which the two of them indulge in alone. 

After eating, the two step outside into the garden for a bit, where Rey asks Poe where Hux could be, since it’s far past the time any decent person should be awake and functioning. 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the man slept in his laboratory all night,” Poe answers her as he gazes out at the garden from their spot sitting at the porch. “If he sleeps at all. Something strange is going on here, Rey. I’ve seen him when he gets into these little spells, but… something about all of this is different.”

What a grand time for her arrival. 

It’s becoming quite boring, but Rey still decides to head back inside, this time choosing one of the many encyclopedias from the library and taking it into the lounge to continue her careful watch on the stairs, waiting for Hux to miraculously come down and be willing to spend time with her. 

But the only person she does eventually see is Finn, who looks about as tired and stressed as she feels. 

“Finn!” she calls out to him before he can rush off down the hallway.

His expression looks significantly lightened when he turns around and sees her running towards him.

“Good morning,” he greets her. “Is there something you needed?”

“No, no… well, yes. Have you happened to see Mr. Hux this morning? It is Sunday after all, and I thought… well, surely he can’t be working still?”

“I’m afraid that’s all he’s been doing for the past twenty four hours,” Finn tells her, looking resigned in a way, and Rey assumes this means Finn is also forced to work these same grueling hours if he works as closely with Hux as Poe seems to think. “It’s very important business.”

“I know,” Rey nods, trying to sound eager and hopeful, even though those are the furthest emotions from her mind. “I heard he’s training to be a doctor like his father.” 

Finn’s eyes seem to sink, looking at her almost in pity. 

Rey doesn’t take offense to this. She can imagine exactly how pitiful she must seem. A poor orphan girl everyone forgot about who now is only taking up space in the house. 

But then Finn’s expression starts to sink in another way, almost as if he’s surrendering, preparing to do something he really doesn’t want to do.

“Rey,” he speaks quietly, putting a hand on her arm and guiding her off down the hall a ways, out of earshot from any of the servants. 

A brief wave of worry goes through her as she wonders what Finn wants to tell her, something that seems so serious. 

“I think it’s important that you know… Hux and I are on the verge of an incredibly critical discovery. That is why he is being so cold towards you. I imagine he is stressed beyond belief, and it’s very difficult for him to tear his focus from his work when he gets like this.”

Rey nods slowly in understanding, and a bit of excitement at the idea of Hux close to coming upon a discovery so important, and at the explanation for why he’s been so on edge. 

“I see. And… do you think perhaps after all of this is done, he will be more open towards… our planned engagement?” 

Finn can only shrug his shoulders, giving her that sympathetic gaze again. 

“I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”

The rest of the day in the Hux household goes about uneventfully, and devoid of Hux’s presence. Apparently he hasn’t left the laboratory since last night, and there have been only a handful of sightings of Finn as well.

Whatever this important discovery is, Rey can only hope it’s going along as planned so that she won’t end up spending months going on like this, wondering when she will ever be married, or loved for that matter. 

It’s quite a shock to both Rey and Poe, who have been sitting peacefully in the living room reading through various encyclopedias they found in the library, when a sudden loud knocking booms through the house, as if a giant were clobbering against the front doors with his fists. 

The two quickly stand as the butler rushes over to answer the door as the knocking persists.

Rey begins straightening out her dress while Poe tries looking out the window into the darkening streets to try and see who would be visiting the house just before dinner. Neither of them were informed about any guests. 

“What are we to do?” Rey whispers desperately to Poe as she glances around, praying for Hux to appear. 

“Well, we’re in charge,” Poe answers, sounding sure enough. “Seeing as we are the only residents available at the present time…” 

“Ah, Professor Skywalker,” the butler nods to the person standing outside once he pulls open one of the doors. “This is quite unexpected-”

“I’m afraid there wasn’t time to send a letter,” the man answers, stepping right through the doorway and into the house, much to the butler’s obvious discomfort, though he says nothing. 

Rey steps back a bit, bumping into Poe as they both watch the man who has burst into the house.

He is an older gentleman with tangled grey hair and a beard. His clothes look haggard and torn, as if he trekked miles on foot to get here.

Rey finds herself leaning back towards the window, staring out into the evening and trying to see if a carriage had brought the man, since she didn’t hear any horses. 

The man suddenly turns to face the two of them. They both jump to attention, feeling as if they are suddenly under the scrutiny of a very strict military officer. 

Rey is immediately stricken by the man’s bright blue eyes that ring with a sensation of kindness and warmth, despite the rest of his intimidating aura.

“Armitage Hux,” he speaks. “Where is he?” 

Rey doesn’t speak, expecting Poe to answer, but when she turns and glances up at him, she can see he is gaping in the same way she is. 

“Professor,” a voice calls out sternly from across the room, making everyone snap their attention toward where Hux, of all people, is standing beside the staircase. 

Beyond being shocked that he is standing here, Rey notices a touch of horror ridden in his eyes as he stares at the man before him, though he tries to keep it hidden under his usual stone-faced expression. 

“Well, this is a surprise,” Hux speaks slowly, sounding as if he’s being careful not to let the man notice something. 

“Indeed,” the Professor nods, his tone sounding unamused. “I was expecting to find you holed up in your laboratory.”

A strange tension ripples through the air as Rey watches the two men stare each other down as if it were a battle of wills. 

“If that were the case, you would have wasted a trip, Professor Skywalker,” Hux finally answers, moving forward now, still with his hands clasped behind his back. “Ach-To is quite a long journey from here. That is, if you want to see me as badly as I presume.” 

“Of course,” Skywalker nods as Hux now stands in front of him. “I seem to remember you encouraging me to stop by for dinner anytime. That was, of course, when you were still attending school.” 

Rey is shocked to hear this bit of news, but no one else reacts, so she says nothing and tries to keep her expression neutral.

“Anyway, I thought perhaps tonight, you would host me,” Skywalker continues, moving to fold his hands in front of him. “It’s been quite some time since we conversed, and I think we have much to discuss.”

His words are so cordial, as if he were speaking to a dear colleague, but the tone of his voice suggests something else lies beneath his desire for simple dinner conversation. 

She can’t tell what Hux thinks, because he just gives a forced grin, nodding briefly.

“So we shall,” he agrees. “Dinner is being prepared as we speak. I shall have my staff set a place for you.” 

“Excellent.”

Once everyone is seated for dinner, it’s a bit awkward, to say the least. Much more so than last night. 

Hux sits in his spot at the head of the table, staring down across at Skywalker, who had chosen the seat at the end of the table, and Rey, Poe, and Finn are all left sitting along the side of the table next to each other because each is afraid of sitting on their own without someone familiar next to them. 

It is impossible for anyone to predict what this dinner is going to consist of. 

“I assume things are well at the University, Professor,” Hux finally starts after they had all begun to dig half heartedly into their food. 

“We’re getting along,” Skywalker assures him, his striking blue eyes still gazing at him intently, even from all the way across the table, as if he were desperately trying to uncover something. “I’m more curious about how you’re getting along without the school’s resources.” 

Rey, Finn, and Poe all turn to look at Hux, eager and slightly terrified of his reaction. 

But the man simply shrugs as he continues with his food.

“It was a bit of a loss at first, I won’t deny that. But I’ve been getting on just fine with finding methods and resources of my own.” 

Rey tries not to feel a bit bitter as she notices how Hux isn’t as openly cold towards this man as he is to her, even though he is clearly disturbed by the Professor’s presence. 

“Surely you’re not working all on your own?” Skywalker presses. “A man like you must be working on experiments far beyond simple observations.”

“My assistant helps me when he can,” Hux nods toward Finn, who looks very much like he would have rather been kept out of this conversation. “But I’m afraid my work is not as complex as you think, Professor.” 

“I find that hard to believe,” Skywalker chuckles humorously. “I seem to remember you having the need to outdo every single student with your… ambition.” 

“Well, thankfully my ambition has allowed me to strive further than what was permitted during my schooling,” Hux counters with a slight cock of his head, as if he hoped the reply would set the professor on edge. 

If it does upset him, Skywalker shows no sign of it. However, any answer Hux gives him seems to only make him more dissatisfied and suspicious. It seems like he is more of a detective trying to uncover some secret crime rather than a Professor of medical research. 

“It is… unfortunate that you were unable to continue your education,” he speaks, every word sending a strike at the strain in the room between the two men. “But surely you are conforming to the standard morals of how to conduct any… further work you’ve been doing.” 

Now it is silent as Hux simply stares at him from across the table, gripping the silverware in his hands that hover above the now forgotten food. 

“Will you be leaving after dinner, Professor?” he suddenly asks, his voice taking on a very different tone that resembles a threatening sound, as if warning Skywalker off of something. “I’m afraid I am incredibly busy, and have little time to waste with our usual banter. So if you would kindly get to the point, I would be most grateful-”

“I want to know what you’re working on,” Skywalker states, just as clearly and direct as Hux had asked. “That is why I am here, and you know that.” 

The tension that had been rigid through the dinner table now dissolves into a gut wrenching terror as Hux’s anger is practically visible, thrown across the room towards Skywalker. 

“I am afraid I am quite unable to help you at this time,” he speaks, his voice shaking in barely contained rage.

Rey notices now as she watches him, that Hux has been taking subtle glances out the window every now and then throughout dinner tonight, looking more and more anxious each time he turns and the sun sinks lower and lower from the sky, sending the world into increasing darkness. 

He seems to take more and more glances as the conversation becomes more and more heated. Rey wonders if perhaps he is looking for some kind of escape. 

“I have been doing this for over forty years, Armitage,” Skywalker throws back at him, sounding completely unintimidated by Hux’s growing fury. “And I’ve grown to know people like you very well. You think I’m not aware when you’re up to something that is-”

“Then _you _,” Hux shouts, making Rey nearly jump out of her seat and Finn’s eyes widen in fear, “should be well aware that I have every right to refrain from disclosing any private information to you regarding my work. Especially since I am no longer a student of yours.”__

__The three helpless spectators of this intense exchange all turn to stare between the two men, not knowing what to expect and fearful of how this interaction will end._ _

__Skywalker shakes his head, his eyes looking remorseful now, though still sprinkled with the suspecting glare he’s kept throughout all of this._ _

__“You’re a fool if you are continuing with that work you were so senselessly obsessed with,” he hisses accusingly. “And if you are, you can be assured that I will be there to stop you every time you attempt to push your dangerous ideas onto anyone.”_ _

__Fire seems to spark through Hux’s eyes now, but Rey also sees Finn gape at the Professor in realization._ _

__Rey sees rain begin to fall outside._ _

__“You are the one who has been warning everyone against Hux’s experiment,” Finn speaks, his voice hardly above a whisper._ _

__“And stopping anyone from funding it,” Hux continues, his face twisted in a sneer of unmatched outrage._ _

__“And what experiment are we speaking of?” Poe asks, leaning forward, as if finally feeling encouraged to jump in on the conversation now that it has seemed to open up from just Hux and Skywalker._ _

__A low grumble of thunder shudders through the sky outside, and Hux takes another anxious look out the window, his rage snapping away in an instant, as if the thunder had woken him up out of something._ _

__He jumps up from the table, sending a jolt through it that jerks everyone’s plate and glasses._ _

__“Finn,” he speaks, casting a quick glance down at the man as he storms off towards the door._ _

__Finn seems to immediately understand the message, and he rises quickly after Hux, after sending a rather sorrowful look back at Poe before rushing out the door and following Hux to wherever the two need to go, which Rey can guess is the laboratory._ _

__Rey, Poe, and Skywalker are all left in a now silent and eased dining room, their food cold and useless before them._ _

__“Well, gee,” Poe sighs in distress, collapsing back into his chair. “I’d say this dinner would have been much more successful outside in the rain.”_ _

__

__Nobody finished dinner, but hot chocolate was made at Poe’s request and taken into the sitting room. Poe also insisted Skywalker stay for a bit, since dinner had become rather ruined. Rey was not opposed to this, because she found herself rather eager to speak with the man now that Hux is absent._ _

__He chose to sit silently by himself in the corner of the room, his hands clasped in front of him, his eyes narrowed, staring at nothing as he seemed to be carefully contemplating something._ _

__Rey stays out of his way at first, mindlessly chatting with Poe, who of course continues to try and make a light hearted joke of tonight’s awkward events. But after a while, she gathers enough courage to raise herself from the safety of wordlessly blending into the background, and makes her way over to where Skywalker sits._ _

__“Are you sure you don’t want anything, Professor?” she starts after she’s approached him, putting on a polite smile even though her heart sinks when he doesn’t seem to react to her presence. “Surely you must be hungry?”_ _

__He is slow to answer, and Rey is horribly embarrassed for a moment, wondering if he will choose to ignore her completely.  
Holdo’s words about men ignoring women who present themselves as incompetent fools come to her mind, but she quickly tries to bury them. _ _

__“Thank you Miss Rey, but I’m sure I’ll survive.”_ _

__She startles when hearing him use her name, all other words she had prepared to say to him lost form her mind as she just stares at him in amazement and slight worry._ _

__He casts a glance up at her, and his expression soon softens ever so slightly._ _

__“Having to look into Hux’s background, I learned of the engagement,” he explains, turning his eyes back to stare into nothing. “I assumed who you were when I first saw you this evening. Hux doesn’t have many friends, that much I am sure of.”_ _

__“You seem awfully sure of a lot of things about him,” Rey speaks, keeping any false politeness out of her tone. She senses Skywalker is a man that prefers people to speak like human beings._ _

__She slowly sits in the chair across the small table from him._ _

__He turns to face her, his blue eyes staring so intensely into hers, she feels as if he is trying to examine inside her mind._ _

__“Your fiancé was one of my best students, once upon a time,” Skywalker tells her, though he doesn’t look too positively reminiscent as he says this. “I should say I know an awful lot about him in the years he spent under my teaching.”_ _

__“At the University in Ach-To,” Rey nods. “I had been under the impression that he was going to graduate from there.”_ _

__Skywalker gives her a careful look, almost as if he’s not sure he wants to continue what he wants to say, but he goes along cautiously anyhow._ _

__“Hux has an incredibly brilliant mind, don’t get me wrong,” he starts, turning more towards her, as if now eager to speak about this to someone else. Someone completely on the outside. “But he has always been careless with his research, ignoring possible consequences that every decent man ought to take into account. And that trait has followed him all throughout his education, and now into his career. That is why I do not wish for any other schools or foundations to fund him. The man is careful to make things sound very different from the truth.”_ _

__Rey wants to defend Hux in some way, but has no counter arguments. Even though he is to be her husband, she knows hardly anything about him personally, at least not enough to defend his character._ _

__“Surely it isn’t his intention to cause harm,” she offers. “Isn’t all his work and experiments in an effort to better mankind?”_ _

__“I’m sure that’s what he calls it,” Skywalker answers, leaning back in his chair a bit as he shakes his head in mistrust, staring off into nothing again. “Or you could call it a personal quest to make himself more revered than his father ever was.”_ _

__He looks back to her as she stares down at her lap in confusion._ _

__“I’m assuming you don’t know much about the relationship between the two of them?”_ _

__Rey shakes her head._ _

__“It wasn’t good,” is all he says on that topic._ _

__“But that can’t be the only reason he does what he does,” she insists. “I am sure he finds some joy or satisfaction at least in working to help people. I will admit, I know little of his relationship with his father, but… well, his father has passed on, many years ago. What exactly could he be contending with?”_ _

__Skywalker shrugs, as if he has considered the same thing._ _

__“The world, perhaps,” he answers. “The mere legacy of his father. Maybe everyone in general. Something else Hux was prone to in his years at the University was creating rivalries. And not the healthy kind either. Any excuse to pit himself against someone in an effort to prove he is the better, smarter man. From what I could tell, it made him all the more cold and bitter with his work.”_ _

__Rey feels Skywalker’s eyes harden, gazing into hers as if he were trying to warn her of something._ _

__“And that is not the proper mindset for a doctor, Miss Palpatine.”_ _

__

__The storm is raging, just as expected. Finn is at least grateful for that much, knowing that Hux might have burned the house to the ground tonight if the experiment went to hell as dinner had._ _

__They are only minutes away now, the last of the electrical equipment having been set up, the hatch in the ceiling opened up, ready to raise the body up through the roof of the basement, through the hollowed out wall inside the house that Hux’s father had created years ago for an experiment of his own, and finally out through the opened glass panels of the roof of the mansion where (if all goes as planned) lightning will strike through the rods set up and into the body, giving it enough energy to restart the prepared organs, giving it life once again._ _

__“Everything is exactly on schedule,” Hux reports after finishing up with the last of the equipment, setting it up in a kind of strange looking net around where the body lies._ _

__This is the closest look Finn has gotten to the body. At first, when he saw it laying there, completely un-obscured, he had tried staying away from it as much as possible. But now, as he truly gazes down at it, finally taking in the face of the deceased man, he is shocked to see how young the man is._ _

__He can’t be more than thirty years old, if that. Until now, the only corpses they have been working with have been at least around fifty years old at the time of their death._ _

__“How was this man killed?” Finn asks, completely forgetting himself in his surprise._ _

__Hux briefly glances at the body, a rather solemn expression covering his own face._ _

__“I don’t know all the details of the death,” he answers shortly. “I prefer not to. I simply heard a young man was dead and took a chance, as I’ve always done before. Now all I know is his organs are in good condition and his body is in the perfect state we need it to be in for the experiment. So I chose him.”_ _

__“You mustn't think of it as a man, Finn,” Hux reminds him once he gets a look at his expression. “It is a corpse used for our research.”_ _

__Finn knows this. He also knows very well that the body and organs need to be completely healthy, at least before death, so someone younger is obviously the better choice. It doesn’t make it any less disturbing to see._ _

__It’s almost alarming, staring at the corpse of a man, knowing he is dead, even though the way his face is resting with his eyes closed, it looks as if he could simply be sleeping. The man even has a head of thick black hair that looks fairly normal, if a bit thinned._ _

__Of course, the stiffness of the limbs where rigor mortis has begun to set in quickly kills the fantasy that the man may still be breathing._ _

__There are also a maze of stitches along various parts of the body where Hux had to cut into it to check on the organs._ _

__Finn can guess each of the organs examined, based on where the stitches are, but there is a line of them along the neck as well that he can’t figure out._ _

__His attention is quickly drawn from the matter once Hux announces they are ready to begin._ _

__Finn has never felt so nervous in his life. Even in all the months of grave robbing, discreet visits to the apothecary, and secret experimenting, he has never felt his stomach doing this many flips while he and Hux line up the rigging system to carry the body up and out through the roof of the house._ _

__He wonders if Hux is nervous or scared or just excited, eager to see if all his years of research and planning, failed experiments and small successes is finally about to lead to the final, ground breaking step._ _

__Given Hux’s mood throughout the day however, Finn is a bit terrified of what might happen if this last experiment does fail._ _

__Hux takes his place at the controls, firing up the electrodes, while Finn goes to the pulley, ready to raise the body up at Hux’s command._ _

__Hux waits a while, standing still as he listens outside at the storm, waiting for some secret signal only he can decipher._ _

__Once another roll of thunder shakes violently through the air, he nods to Finn before turning a switch on the controls._ _

__Finn cranks the lever, slowly sending the examination table rising up with the body strapped securely on top._ _

__The two men watch it go up through the hatch in the ceiling, up through the tunnel in the wall, the pulley creaking forebodingly as it slowly staggers along, until it finally emerges through the glass panels of the roof, the rods clicking into place as it reaches the proper placement, now completely open to the night sky and the raging lightly._ _

__Now, they wait. Neither of them move, or even breathe as they stare wide eyed, their necks craned, waiting._ _

__It seems to take hours, and Finn worries perhaps they didn’t line something up correctly, or maybe something malfunctioned, but he then nearly jumps out of his shoes when a bolt of lightning cracks through the sky above them, striking the rods on the roof, which harness the energy, sending it cascading through the electrodes and the body._ _

__The next few moments are filled with a horribly loud buzzing vibrating through the air, something that surely would have woken everyone in the house up if there were no thunder and rain to cover it up._ _

__The entire house seems to shake as the lightning crackles through the equipment, striking the body, sending energy flowing into the organs._ _

__Three times the lightning strikes the rods, rattling the very core of the mansion, sending that shrill humming through the air, until all goes dark and silent._ _

__Finn finally turns his head away from the scene, glancing desperately at Hux._ _

__“Yes, yes, bring it down!” Hux orders, not tearing his eyes away from the contraption, as if the only way it might fail is if he stops staring at it._ _

__Finn cranks the winch once again, sending a shudder through the equipment before beginning to rattle slowly back down._ _

__Hux and Finn are as still as statues as the body descends down to them, Finn’s heart beating madly as he waits for the corpse to come into view._ _

__It looks exactly as it did when it went up, at least in Finn’s eyes. As if a million volts of electricity didn’t just get shot through it._ _

__He isn’t sure what he was expecting. For the body to just be… alive? As if waking up from a deep sleep, or maybe buzzing with energy after just being shot with lightning three times over._ _

__But it just… lies there._ _

__All of the electrodes and various machines shudder to a stop, and the room grows silent._ _

__Finn looks to Hux, desperate to hear him say something, anything that will reveal what is going on._ _

__Hux himself looks uncertain as he slowly moves away from the panel, walking towards the table where the body lays motionless._ _

__Finn walks closer as well, his eyes jumping between the body and his employer, waiting for a reaction from either one of them._ _

__Hux leans closer, reaching down and lifting the hand slightly, examining it closely, perhaps feeling for a pulse on the wrist, or looking for the veins through the pale skin._ _

__He’s almost as still as the body, leaning over and staring at the hand, his breathing frozen in his throat._ _

__Just as Finn is about to gather up enough courage to ask what has happened, Hux cries out in triumph._ _

__Finn’s eyes widen when he sees the hand begin to lift away from Hux’s grasp, all on its own._ _

__

__Upstairs in one of the guest bedrooms, Rey lies awake, tossing and turning in her bed, kept awake by the horrid lightning that continues to flash madly through the window and the thunder that seems to shriek and shudder throughout the house._ _

__She is restless throughout the night, staring out the window at the rain splattering against the glass, the sight and sound of the violent storm striking an unexplainable, painful fear into her heart._ _


	5. Chapter 5

It has been days since Professor Skywalker’s visit and the dreadful dinner, and Rey can’t believe it, but things have finally started to feel more as they should be. 

Hux is far less cold than usual, though he still spends most of his hours in the laboratory, Finn seems less stressed which makes Poe happier, and Rey is happy because everyone else seems happy, and finally, she doesn’t feel like she is messing everything up. 

A party is even thrown on Saturday evening, mostly planned by Poe, but Hux is shockingly present to take part in it as well.

Rey wears her sky blue dress with the short frilly sleeves and a comfortable pair of shoes for dancing, even though at first she isn’t sure how much of that particular activity she will be taking part in. She doesn’t know any of the guests, after all. 

But of course, Poe is sure not to let her stand alone on the sidelines.

“Just the woman I was looking for!” he proclaims only a few seconds after she’s come downstairs into the ballroom to find a mess of men dressed in fine suits and sipping champagne, and women in flowy dresses much like her own, chatting and dancing about cheerfully. 

Poe takes her hands and pulls her through the crowd, leading her towards a group of young women that Rey is pleasantly surprised to see are very close to her in age. 

“Rey, these are my dear friends,” Poe announces as he steps into the group of five or so young women, throwing his arms around two of them as they all giggle bashfully. “Dear friends, this is my… dear friend, Rey.” 

“Hello,” they all greet her with excited friendly smiles, which Rey returns. 

“I thought perhaps you might get along, seeing as you’re all in similar situations,” Poe tells her as she cocks her head in confusion.

“Oh, we’ve heard!” one of the girls closest to her gasps, grabbing her hands as if they were best friends. “You are courting Mr. Hux! My lord, if I were faced with that challenge, I’m not sure if I could live up to it.”

“We’re all in the running for our own engagements,” one of the girls Poe has his arm around tells her, looking far less eager about the predicament than all the others. “It’s a bit ridiculous we all have to fight to get a man’s attention. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

Rey smiles as all the other girls verbally agree.

“Perhaps in another world,” Rey replies quietly. 

“Enough talk of men!” one of the others commands, stepping forward and grabbing onto Rey’s hand and the hand of the girl next to her. “Let tonight be filled with nothing but joy and merriment!” 

Indeed, once Rey is pulled to the center of the room and becomes lost in a maze of twirling and skipping, she finds herself forgetting all about any troubles that have plagued her mind since she got here. 

She lets herself laugh and not care about what anyone thinks, mostly because she knows no one is really focusing on her. 

Even though she only knows Finn and Poe, she feels as if she’s surrounded by close friends, that she can be herself around. She doesn’t feel alone, and she has more fun than she’s ever had in years, as if she were a child, caring of nothing but finding as much delight as she can, drawing exhilaration from everyone around her as she dances and dances, nothing but laughing and the cheerful music filling her ears.

After a couple hours, she is even confident enough to approach Hux, who has been sipping champagne and discussing business matters, or whatever it is important men talk about when they all get together in little groups at parties. 

“You have been avoiding me,” she says as soon as she approaches him, ignoring the odd looks she gets from the other men he had been conversing with. 

Hux stares at her, looking flabbergasted, probably because this is the first time she has addressed him in such a way. Looking confidently into his eyes rather than staring at her hands or the floor.

“This is your party after all, isn’t it?” she asks him, offering an encouraging smile. “Would it trouble you much to dance with your fiancé?” 

His mouth hangs open in shock, looking back and forth from her, to the group of men surrounding him. 

“Of course, sir,” one of them bows his head. “We wouldn’t dream of taking up any more of your time.” 

At this, the other men seem to follow suit, stepping back slightly and allowing Rey to reach out and tentatively take Hux’s hand.

He looks like he really would rather have stayed and continued speaking with the gentlemen, but he eventually sets down his drink with reluctance and follows Rey out to the floor where a few other couples have already begun dancing.

However, once others see the master of the house dancing with someone, pretty much every couple in the room steps in and begins to dance as well.

Hux doesn’t really look at her while they dance, and the way he holds her is rather stiff, as if he is uncomfortable being so close to her, but Rey can at least understand that. Maybe he finds their situation a bit awkward. 

His hand even feels cold in hers. 

“I’ve had fun this evening,” she tells him, hoping she can put him at ease. “I think the party was a good idea, don’t you?”

“I suppose,” he answers, his voice sounding as distant as his body language. 

“The house is so big and gorgeous… it’s nice to see it filled with so much happiness.”

“If you enjoy this sort of thing, I am sure it is very enthralling.”

Now Rey fears she has started on the wrong path again, and she feels doubt take over her as she stares down at their feet waltzing lifelessly across the floor. 

“Mr. Hux, I… I am truly sorry if I’ve caused you distress by arriving here,” she relents. “I really had no idea of anything that was going on. I was just doing as I was told. But I never meant to add to your burdens.” 

His narrowed eyes finally gaze down at her, and he looks a bit caught off guard at her apology. 

“I… I’m sure it’s not entirely your fault,” he answers slowly. “You were only doing as you were asked, like you said.” 

She nods, grinning hopefully. 

“So… do you think perhaps we should try and-”

“I’m sorry,” he suddenly snaps his attention completely away from her, as if something had just caught his eye. “I’m afraid I must retire for the evening.”

He whisks off and out of the room faster than she had pulled him out to dance, and before she knows it, she is left standing alone once again, wondering what she could have possibly done wrong this time.

“Have you noticed something has been… different since that Professor came by?”

“Yes, I have,” Poe sighs, leaning back in the chair he’s sitting at as they both look over the garden from the back porch. The party is still going on inside, but the two of them decided to sneak off once Finn had suddenly declared he needed to go tend to something, rushing off in the same fashion Hux had. 

“I thought things were getting a bit better, but…” 

“Hux is better. Finn isn’t.”

She turns to stare at him oddly.

“He seemed much less stressed to me,” she expresses, watching Poe’s expression turn to a frown as he stares down at his feet. 

“I know him. He’s acting so… strange. Like he’s trying to keep a secret, and he’s terrified I’ll find out.”

“Have you spoken to him about it? Surely he will confide in you.” 

Rey suddenly regrets her words when she sees the look on Poe’s face now which is sad enough to allow her to feel the desperateness of his conflict.

“He hides things from me. I act like I don’t mind, and… maybe I shouldn’t mind, because it’s his business after all and I know he has to do what he has to do to keep his position here.”

“That’s no reason for him not to share his troubles with you if he is as close to you as I think.”

This makes Poe look up at her, but there is no look of surprise on his face.

“I know you care for him,” she admits. “It wasn’t hard to guess.”

Thankfully, he smiles, assuring Rey he is not angry at her.

“I suppose I’m not very good at hiding my feelings,” he grins as he turns and smiles down at his hands clasped in his lap. “I of course don’t have to ask you to not tell anyone.”

“You’re the only person I talk to.” 

It’s quiet for a moment as the look of distress slowly melts back through Poe’s face, a look that makes Rey want to attempt to comfort him in some way she doesn’t know how.

“He’s a very private person,” he tells her. “He doesn’t like anyone looking his way, he wants to stay in the background as much as possible. I understand that. But… it’s hard to get him to open up to me. Sometimes I wonder if he doesn’t trust me, or if he thinks that… whatever it is he’s hiding is dangerous in some way. And if that’s the case, I feel even more helpless, because I don’t know how to get him out of this.” 

Rey can’t help but feel slightly envious of the way Poe talks of Finn. He cares about him so much, he wants to know everything about him, to help in any way he can with anything that is causing him torment. 

Meanwhile, the man who is supposed to be her fiancé has never even spoken her name. 

“You would be able to help him,” she answers him confidently. “We both would. I know very little of scientific experiments, but… if anything were getting truly out of hand, I’m sure Finn would tell you.”

Poe at least looks a bit reassured at this and nods in gratitude, while Rey silently prays that she is right in this assumption, or better yet, that there is nothing to worry about at all.

But Skywalker’s words have lingered in her head these past few days, a warning of Hux’s dangerous habits when it comes to his research. And no matter how much she tries to swear to herself that Armitage Hux can’t possibly be anything less than a brilliant, trustworthy doctor, she can’t ignore the fact that she has seen nothing that would assure her of such a promise.

Finn had immediately followed Hux down into the laboratory once he noticed he was missing from the party, knowing that something must be going on. 

He had hoped they would at least be able to make it through tonight without an interruption from the reanimated dead body down in the basement, but alas, here they are.

“What’s wrong?” he demands as soon as he walks through the door, closing it securely behind him before turning to where Hux is hovering above the table.

The body is strapped down in the exact same place it has been ever since the storm. It is indeed conscious. It’s eyes have opened and it writhes in its bonds every now and then. But it is lethargic, and has been for far too long now, not even gaining enough strength to stand or speak.

“I couldn’t waste another moment at such a frivolous gathering,” Hux sighs in frustration as he goes about unstrapping the body and preparing all of the proper tools to examine it once again. 

Finn tries not to bring his palm to his forehead.

“Hux, we can try tomorrow. Tonight is not the night to be worrying about-”

“Scientists don’t spend their time on parties Finn, but if that is where you would like to be, do as you wish.”

Now Finn rolls his eyes, but he knows Hux won’t notice anyway. 

He steps forward, taking off his coat and approaching the table as Hux checks the heartbeat, pulse, and then brainwaves of the body. 

“This is becoming unnerving,” Hux growls in anger as he tosses the equipment down, staring at the body in dismay. “The organs are growing weaker every hour. If it doesn’t move, or speak or… do _something _, it will expire within the week.”__

__Finn slowly turns his stare down to the reanimated man, feeling his insides churn a bit._ _

__It’s not as if the man looks like a rotted away corpse, and it did help that they had tried to dress it in some form of clothing, even if it did look a bit like tattered cloth. But there is still something horrifyingly inhuman about it. And watching it blink mindlessly and shift around silently against the table gives off an incredibly eerie sensation that haunts Finn’s dreams some nights._ _

__“Do you see me?” Hux asks the body loudly, in a tone that sounds more like barking at this point as his frustration rises._ _

__The man, or creature, lying on the table turns his head towards Hux, blinking at him passively._ _

__Hux snatches up a broken piece of pipe that had come loose from some of the equipment and offers it down towards the creature’s hand._ _

__“Hold,” he orders, and sure enough, the creature’s fingers slowly wrap around the item until he is gripping it with his own hand, his thumb sliding up and down the cold metal material._ _

__Finn takes this as his cue, and walks up around the side of the table, watching as the creature slowly turns his head, seeing Finn’s movement out of the corner of his eye, and now focuses his un-energetic attention on him_ _

__They’ve been trying things like this for the past couple of days, practicing simple tasks to test if the creature at least understands its own consciousness and movement around him._ _

__“Look here!” Hux snaps, drawing the creature’s attention back to him, but the movements are still far too slow to be considered a normal response._ _

__They go on like this for a little while longer, but still, even though the creature is obviously aware of what is going on around him, he seems to grow stiller and stiller, as if on the verge of falling unconscious, something he probably won’t wake up from once he does._ _

__Hux storms off, his arms crossed over his chest as he moves toward the back door of the lab, looking deep in thought, though far too irritated to continue working rationally._ _

__Finn follows him, leaving the creature lying stagnant on the table._ _

__“This is useless!” Hux whispers venomously. Finn isn’t sure why he’s whispering, it’s not as if the creature has any understanding of what they are saying._ _

__“Hux, I… I don’t mean to sound doubtful, but this is only the first successful restoration of a human body,” he points out. “It really would be a miracle if everything worked out perfectly the first time. Now, we do as we always do, we figure out where we went wrong, and we… we’ll have to try again.”_ _

__“No, you don’t understand!” Hux hisses again, turning his head to glare at him with fire in his eyes. “This was the perfect specimen, in the exact condition I needed it in. How many of these do you think are out there, Finn? Do you think I can just jaunt over to the cemetery and have my pick of the finest corpses in D’Qar?”_ _

__“Of course I know that,” Finn sighs. “But… perhaps if the body does need to be so perfect and there is such difficulty finding one… maybe this theory isn’t as perfect as we thought.”_ _

__Finn immediately wishes he hadn’t put it like that, because if Hux looked angry before, he looks about ready to tear Finn’s head off now._ _

__“I only meant we might need to perfect it better,” Finn quickly tries to cover himself, but it’s far too late._ _

__“Listen,” Hux begins, his lips curling in pent up ferocity. “Everything I’ve-”_ _

__Hux is cut off immediately by a pair of hands grabbing his throat and yanking him back._ _

__Finn leaps backward as he turns in horror to see the creature itself, moving as if it hasn’t missed a day of its life, and is now violently attacking Hux._ _

__It claws and kicks and clobbers at the man, while Hux seems too caught by surprise to even think of how to fight back._ _

__The room is suddenly filled with crashing and growling as the creature throws Hux around the room as if he were a rag doll._ _

__Just watching for a second or two, anyone could tell that this thing that had once been a human man, is something else entirely. His strength is far beyond what it should be as he lifts and throws Hux with one hand, a single punch sending him straight to the ground looking as dazed as if a hammer had just collided with his head._ _

__The revived corpse also moves, fights, and grunts in a way that makes him sound more animal than human._ _

__After pressing himself against the back door for a good minute, Finn finally is able to unfreeze himself and move as quickly as his limbs will let him toward a small tray near the operating table while the creature’s back is turned to him, focused on tackling himself on top of Hux and gripping both his hands around his neck which immediately stops any noise coming from his throat._ _

__Finn loads up a syringe with shaking hands, not even properly filling it all the way before running over to the hulking monster and jabbing the needle into its neck._ _

__It feels as if a battering ram has been jabbed into his stomach once the creature whips his arm around and shoves Finn back, sending him colliding against the ground, his head landing painfully on the stone floor._ _

__The creature rises and stands, yanking the needle out of its neck, and turning its furious gaze to where Finn is lying helpless._ _

__Blood pounding in his head, Finn desperately drags himself back as fast as he can as the creature bounds toward him, its hands curled into fists, ready to rain down the attack he’d inflicted on Hux onto him now._ _

__But once the creature is standing just above him, it staggers, stumbling a bit on its feet._ _

__Finn jumps as it suddenly drops to its knees, its arms falling uselessly to its sides as the sedative spreads through its body._ _

__Finn sees Hux slowly rising up from where he had been thrown, his hand touching against his neck as he breathes heavily, looking as if he had just been thrust into a tornado and then ripped back out again._ _

__“Grab it!” he orders, his voice strained._ _

__Finn runs forward grabbing ahold of one of the creature’s arm, praying it won’t retaliate, but the sedative is doing its job well by now._ _

__Hux grabs the other arm and they both haul it up and drag it back to the table, where they are both relieved to throw it down seeing as it took every inch of their strength just to get him up and drag him a couple steps._ _

__They quickly start strapping him back down, knowing the sedative will wear off in very little time, especially since Finn didn’t even give him a full dose._ _

__It is still conscious, but far too weak to do anything. Yet Finn is horrified to see the crazed, hateful look remain in the creature’s eyes. It is like looking into the eyes of a wild beast from a fantasy tale, only somehow fitted into the eyes of a human._ _

__Is it human?_ _

__Once they’ve finished restraining it, Hux stands back, his hands on his hips, and a smile slowly crawling along his lips as he looks down upon the creature he has created._ _

__“I’d say that’s our first sign of progress,” he happily reports, looking more encouraged than he has since after the night of the storm._ _

__“Are you crazy?” Finn asks incredulously. “That thing almost killed us!”_ _

__“Which is the first promising thing he’s done in days,” Hux decides. “Would you rather it do nothing at all until it finally dies off?”_ _

__“Yes!” Finn exclaims. “I would rather it die than have it attack us like a wild animal! Hux, did you see its strength, its movement? Whatever this… thing is, it is not the human it was when it died. We never considered this, but after the brain has died, perhaps it will not be the same once brought back. Wires are crossed somehow, it doesn’t understand human behavior. It is all violence and rage.”_ _

__“It may have felt threatened, but we can straighten out these discrepancies,” Hux replies, rolling up his now torn sleeves. “You have to treat it like a dog, Finn. Train it to behave the way you want it.”_ _

__“Hux, how in the hell are we to train every single human we manage to bring back to life? The idea is preposterous! This isn’t what we planned to do, we planned to find a way to bring loved ones back from the dead and return them to the living peacefully. Not create a hoard of monsters to discipline!”_ _

__“The plan for this experiment, Finn, is to reanimate corpses,” Hux shouts, his excited aura soon shifting back to irritability. “You can twist it around anyway you’d like if it makes you feel more moral, but don’t push your godly ideals onto me or my work.”_ _

__Finn narrows his eyes at the man, shaking his head in disbelief._ _

__“Well that certainly wasn’t the way you sold it to me months ago,” he accuses. “But perhaps it is your morals that have shifted.”_ _

__Hux slams his hands down on the table._ _

__“I’ve already told you what you can do if you no longer like the way I…”_ _

__Both of their attention drifts down to the body lying on the table._ _

__The sedative seems to have worn off much quicker than expected, but the creature is no longer clawing or raging as it had been. Instead, it is lying still in its bonds once more, just blinking and shifting around slightly as it has been doing all the days before._ _

__“Look here,” Hux orders it, and it slowly turns its head as it always has._ _

__Hux leans closer towards it, a mixture of excitement and frenzy circling his eyes._ _

__“I know you can hear me,” he speaks to it, staring daggers into its eyes, as if it were some kind of contest. “I know you understand what is happening. You were human once. So speak.”_ _

__Nothing but silence. Finn wonders if the sedative might have affected the bloodstream in a negative way, but then again, this particular lifeless behavior from the creature is nothing new._ _

__“Answer me!” Hux cries out, slamming his fist against the table beside the creature’s head. “I know you can talk, you hapless brute, now speak!”_ _

__The creature just stares back at him, not even flinching at Hux’s outburst._ _

__As Finn studies its face more closely, he can see its eyes truly staring back into Hux’s in a haunting, menacing sort of gaze._ _

__He can even see that the creature’s jaw seems locked in a sort of grimace, as if he were purposely refusing to move it._ _

__But that couldn’t be…_ _

__“Alright then,” Hux breathes, shoving himself away from the willfully inactive creature and reaching over for something near the foot of the examination table._ _

__Finn sees him drag over some sort of small tank with a thin tube connected to it leading to some sort of mask._ _

__He recognizes the contraption as a sort of breathing apparatus, something they had decided they would need in case they came across any trouble getting the body’s lungs to function properly._ _

__“What are you doing?” Finn asks as Hux turns the contraption on and walks back over to the creature._ _

__“I told you, Finn,” he answers, reaching down and roughly locking the mask around the creature’s face. “It needs to be trained like any other animal.”_ _

__Finn detects the creature’s confusion as it turns its head this way and that, thrown off by the strange sensation of breathing through the mask._ _

__“Let’s try again, shall we?” Hux asks, already teeming with fury as he feigns patience with the unwilling creature. “Are you going to speak or not?”_ _

__Right now, the creature no longer seems concerned with Hux at all, instead starting to shift around even more in the restraints as it tries to reach up and get the mask off its face._ _

__“There,” Finn says hopefully, pointing at the creature’s movements. “Perhaps if we unstrap one hand, it will reach up and take the mask off. Is that not progress?”_ _

__Hux seems to ignore him, instead waiting to see if the creature will indeed talk._ _

__But the only sound coming from the table is the sound of the slight creaking of the straps as the creature tries wriggling out of them._ _

__“Fine,” Hux shrugs carelessly as he reaches down to turn a switch on the tank._ _

__Finn hears something click, and then the creature suddenly stops its movements._ _

__It’s mouth opens behind the mask, as if gasping for something, and soon it starts writhing about more violently in its bonds._ _

__“If you want to breathe, you’re going to have to start earning it,” Hux speaks over the sound of the creature beginning to jerk about against the restraints on the table._ _

__“Hux,” Finn speaks quietly in horror._ _

__A few more seconds pass by and the creature becomes more desperate, thrashing its head from side to side in an effort to throw the suffocating mask from its face, but to no avail._ _

__Just when Finn feels as if he should reach out and take the mask from its face himself, Hux finally leans down and clicks the machine back on._ _

__The creature pants heavily as air is returned to him once more, and he soon stills against the table as his chest moves rapidly, sucking in as much oxygen as he can._ _

__“Now, you might want to rethink your stubbornness,” Hux speaks again, reaching down and grabbing a handful of the creature's hair and yanking its head back to face him. “Now speak to me! I know you must have something to say to me, after that way you attacked me, so say it!”_ _

__But the creature probably could care less about whatever it is Hux is saying. Its eyes are closed, and it’s only focus now is breathing rapidly through the mask, which is hard enough to do on its own without having just been suffocated._ _

__“Wait!” Finn tries to protest, but he might as well not even be there, because Hux doesn’t cast him one look before reaching down to turn off the machine again, cutting off the creature’s oxygen._ _

__He wastes no time whipping about against the restraints, struggling as it opens its mouth but breathes in nothing._ _

__“Hux, you are going to damage it, that’s enough!” Finn shouts, but his demands fall on deaf ears._ _

__“You’re a persistent little bastard, aren’t you?” Hux speaks to it as it thrashes and fights for air. “You’d really rather die than give in to me?”_ _

__“Hux, I said that’s enough!”_ _

__“You know why you won’t give up, you son of a bitch?” Hux continues, leaning closer to the creature, his fingers still gripped firmly in its hair. “Because you’re a gutless coward, just as you were when you were alive. Now look at you. You think you can attack me and get away with it, you savage?!”_ _

__Finn feels a disturbing fear chill through him as he watches Hux speak with the creature on the table with a thrilled look in his eyes, as if he enjoys torturing the thing._ _

__The creature’s hands open and close, as if he’s grasping for something, anything to help him. Finn knows that by now, its lungs must be burning, but Hux refuses to let up, and soon enough, the creature starts to slump against the restraints as every bit of oxygen leaves its body._ _


	6. Chapter 6

“Stop this!” Finn screams before hurdling himself towards the examination table and past Hux to turn the machine back on. 

The creature gasps once again and starts regaining its breath as it breathes in as much air as it can through the mask. 

Finn grabs Hux by the arm and yanks him over away from the table.

“Hux, this is madness!” he exclaims in anger and terror. “What in the world are you thinking?”

“Finn, the body was in no danger of becoming permanently damaged, I know exactly how long it can last before-”

“Tell me who that man was,” Finn demands immediately. “Who was he when he was alive?” 

Hux just shakes his head slightly, looking at a loss. 

“Finn, I already told you I don’t-”

“You knew him,” Finn insists. “I saw how aggravated you became with him. That look in your eyes… Hux, you _hate _him.”__

__“It is simply the proper hand I must use if I am to force it to obey.”_ _

__“I don’t buy it,” Finn shakes his head. “I’ve never seen you so rageful at something. You must know something about him that makes you so hateful. Now you tell me who that man is, or I will find out on my own anyway.”_ _

__Hux lets out an angered sigh as he turns slightly, putting one hand to his forehead._ _

__“His name was Kylo Ren,” he starts, refusing to look at Finn directly. “In his lifetime, he was… he was a murderer.”_ _

__Of all the things Finn thought he might hear, this was certainly far down the list._ _

__“He was brutal and vicious,” Hux continues, the fury in his voice rising again. He preyed on young women and their lovers. Sliced them up in the night.”_ _

__Finn is too shocked to respond, and can do nothing but stand there and gape, horrified at what he is hearing._ _

__“So yes, perhaps I did enjoy giving some misery back to him,” Hux finishes, finally turning to look back at Finn._ _

__“You’re telling me… we revived the mind and body of a psychotic murderer?” Finn asks slowly, feeling his own rage and mistrust build within him._ _

__“The brain shouldn’t contain any remnants of his old personality,” Hux protests. “It should be completely wiped of anything but basic human instinct and understanding. The personality and mind died when he was executed, I only restored the body and brought back its consciousness.”_ _

__“Executed… you mean he was beheaded?”_ _

__That explains the scars on the neck._ _

__“Yes. He was caught and executed months ago, somewhere in Takodana. I read the story in some newspaper once I overheard some colleagues discussing it, and I knew he would be perfect, so I went and got him.”_ _

__“Hux,” Finn breathes with exasperation, glancing back toward the creature, the murderer, that is now breathing steadily on the examination table._ _

__“I don’t believe it, Hux,” he says, turning back to face his rather discomforted employer. “You don’t think it is entirely possible that the brain and body would continue to have murderous tendencies, even after death? That is a deranged illness that affects the mind and body in a deep way, it can’t simply be wiped clean, as you suggest.”_ _

__Hux suddenly doesn’t look so worried. In fact, he looks just as alive with deadly confidence as he did before._ _

__“Well, we shouldn’t have a problem if you would allow me to continue disciplining it so that it understands it can no longer decide to murder and terrorize as it pleases.”_ _

__

__Rey feels a strange sort of hollowness the next evening in the house now that it is suddenly so empty. There had been people filling practically every room last night at the party, and now it is like a ghost town once more._ _

__She spends the day wandering around the house, endlessly fascinated by the gorgeous structure of each room, though it is hardly enough to keep her entertained throughout an entire day. Poe is off with Finn somewhere, and Hux of course is nowhere to be seen, so it is especially boring and lonely._ _

__At least until she overhears the sound of arguing coming from the front door._ _

__Rey quickly sneaks down the hall, moving as silently as she can, slowing to a stop when she nears the front entrance room, her ears straining to hear what is going on._ _

__“I am sorry sir, but as I said, there is no one available at the moment to-”_ _

__“Do I look like I give a damn?! If he refuses to see me, I will have the police here within the hour!”_ _

__Rey is startled by the gruff shouting of whoever it is that has just barged in through the door, but she can quickly deduce who it is, even before she turns the corner to see the man brushing past the very frightened and meek looking butler._ _

__Professor Skywalker almost runs right into her on his way towards the hallway, looking more like a warrior about to go into battle._ _

__He is teeming with fury, his fists shaking, his eyes dripping with rage and his teeth bared as if he wants to murder someone._ _

__The image makes Rey take a few steps back._ _

__“Professor,” she greets him, though her voice is notably small and trembling slightly. “I thought you’d gone back to Ach-To, is everything…”_ _

__“Where is he?” Skywalker growls, making Rey tense up all over again._ _

__“Hux?” she assumes. “I’m sorry, I don’t… I haven’t seen him all day, I-”_ _

__“I know exactly what he has done,” he continues, brushing past her and heading towards the stairs. “And I am prepared to have the police here and tear this place apart if he refuses to give himself up. He needs to be stopped immediately.”_ _

__Rey’s palms begin to shake as she tries to understand what Skywalker is saying._ _

__Police? Give himself up?_ _

__“I’m… he’s probably down in the laboratory,” she tells him before he can charge up the staircase. “I haven’t seen him today, but that’s usually where he is all day.”_ _

__“Where?” he demands, stomping back up to her and staring daggers into her eyes._ _

__“It’s down in the basement,” she answers, pointing towards behind that staircase where the hidden set of stairs leads down below the house._ _

__He doesn’t even give her a second glance, rushing off toward the secret staircase, until he has eventually vanished from sight, followed by the decisive sound of a door slamming closed._ _

__Rey can only stand there frozen, the butler eventually trying to ask her what is going on, which she of course can’t answer._ _

__“I was given very specific instructions to not let that man in this house,” the butler explains worriedly, looking as if he’s about to follow Skywalker down into the basement._ _

__“Wait,” Rey stops him, holding her hands up before the poor man can scuttle off to attempt to stop this madness. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but it sounds really bad. I think it’s best if we just… I don’t know, let this all play out. He said he is going to get the police involved…”_ _

__Good God, is she going to have to deal with things like this for the rest of her life? This man is going to be her husband after all, and here is this Professor barging in, raving about having the police deal with her fiancé._ _

__“Madam, I… I could lose my position if Mr. Hux ever-”_ _

__“He can’t very well fire you if he is arrested, can he?” Rey points out. “And anyway, I will cover for you if this is all a misunderstanding. I can say that I let him in. Hux seems to despise me for any number of reasons already, this would simply add to the list.”_ _

__Rey can admit she really didn’t need to say that last part out loud, especially to this poor man who has nothing to do with her personal troubles._ _

__“I’ll be in the dining room if you should need me, madam,” he nods before sauntering off down the hall, trying his best to act casual, even though he’s obviously just as shaken up as she is._ _

__Rey stands there a moment or two longer, caught between glancing worriedly down towards the basement and staring back to the front door, afraid the police are going to come knocking._ _

__Just as she is about to go and sit down outside on the back porch in some kind of attempt to calm her nerves, she practically leaps a foot in the air when a loud crash booms from downstairs, followed by a scream that is cut short by another bang._ _

__Her eyes widen in panic as she stares down towards the shadowy staircase where the noises had come from._ _

__Before she can really think it through, she rushes towards the stairs, prepared to run down and see what has happened, make sure no one is hurt._ _

__But she isn’t able to get one foot down on the first step before someone reaches their arm out and stops her, quickly pulling her back._ _

__“Poe,” she breathes in relief when she looks up to see who has caught her. “Poe, there’s… we have to go down there, something happened…”_ _

__“Calm down,” he nods, gently placing his hands on her arms as he waits for her hysterical breathing to slow. “I know, I heard. But no one is permitted to go down there, no one but Finn and Hux.”_ _

__She stares at him desperately, almost crying out in frustration._ _

__“Don’t you understand, someone is getting hurt down there, we have to-”_ _

__“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” he tells her, his voice suddenly sounding very serious, making Rey even more worried as he guides her away from the basement. “Go out the back, and if I’m not out there within five minutes, run for help.”_ _

__He releases her, and takes off towards the staircase and up the stairs, his eyes dead set on wherever his destination is._ _

__Rey is left standing, petrified once more, until she glances down the eerie, shadowy abyss that the stairs to the basement have become, and quickly and quietly heads down the hall towards the back of the house, her heart beating so loud, it’s the only thing she can hear in the entire, deadly silent household._ _

__

__Finn is startled out of the daze he had fallen into by the sound of some sort of commotion coming from downstairs._ _

__He’s half sure he simply imagined it, since he has been sitting at the desk in his bedroom most of the day, his chin leaning against his fist while his eyes stare off mindlessly at nothing, or close completely as he falls asleep, the effects of not sleeping for nights on end finally catching up with him._ _

__Last night had been particularly draining._ _

__However, he is assured he had not dreamt it once he is startled again by Poe, who suddenly appears dashing through the door to his room, taking less than a second to sprint over to him and yank him up from the desk._ _

__“What is it, what’s happened?” Finn asks quickly, fearing anything at this point based on the events of last night._ _

__“We need to get down to the basement, immediately,” Poe answers, pulling Finn behind him out the door and into the hallway before taking off towards the stairs._ _

__“What do you mean, what’s going on?!” Finn demands, his heart racing almost as fast as Poe’s footsteps as they bound down the stairs, with Finn picking up his pace closely behind him._ _

__“Something’s happened, in the laboratory, we heard screaming.”_ _

__Finn slows to a stop once they’ve reached the bottom of the stairs, and Poe halts in his tracks, whipping around and giving Finn a desperate look._ _

__“Finn, we have to get down there, Hux could be hurt! He could be dead by now for all we know!”_ _

__“Hux isn’t dead.”_ _

__“Oh, so you have some kind of psychic connection with him now?” Poe asks, bitterness lacing his words._ _

__“No, he’s not even here,” Finn tells him, which immediately stops Poe from making whatever his next accusation would have been. “He went out just an hour ago to get some things from town for the… for his research.”_ _

__Poe eyes riddle with confusion as he turns and looks off toward the hidden staircase._ _

__“Well, someone’s down there, I heard them. Rey heard too.”_ _

__“Where is she?” Finn asks, his voice rising with alarm. “Did she go down-”_ _

__“Relax, I sent her outside,” Poe reassures him before reaching forward and grabbing Finn’s hand. “But she’s running off to get the authorities if I’m not back out there in five minutes, so let’s get down there and see what-”_ _

__“No,” Finn protests, stepping back again once Poe tries marching down the basement steps. “Poe, you can’t…”_ _

__“Oh come now, you can’t be serious,” Poe groans in frustration. “Finn, someone was screaming down there, and we don’t know who it is or what-”_ _

__“Poe, I can’t,” Finn rules. “I can’t let you go down there.”_ _

__“You really think I’m just gonna hang back and have you waltz down there by yourself?” he asks, his eyes narrowed, his will just as strong as Finn’s. “Someone was screaming and crashing about down there, you’re not walking in on your own.”_ _

__Finn knows there is no way he is going to get Poe to leave, but there is also no way he’s letting Poe go into that laboratory._ _

__“Alright,” Finn breathes frustratedly. “You can follow behind me. I won’t go in, I’ll just open the door and look inside. And you will stand behind the door.”_ _

__He can tell Poe is not a fan of this plan, but they can’t stand here arguing all day._ _

__“Fine,” he relents, and Finn nods gratefully before turning and beginning to trek down the tenebrous stairwell. “But if you get yanked into the room, I’m coming in after you.”_ _

__One of the things Finn loves so much about Poe is his endless ability to add humor to pretty much every aspect of life. But it’s hard to take comfort in it now as he knows they are on their way down to investigate the sound of someone being attacked or hurt in a room where he knows the reanimated corpse of a serial killer is being kept._ _

__They don’t hear a thing the whole way down the stairs, even after they have become engulfed by the completely darkened basement, the only light coming through in a small sliver leaking in from the room above where they had just come down from._ _

__Finn keeps his eyes set on the heavy wooden doors that lead into the laboratory, noting that they have indeed been left unlocked._ _

__Poe stays connected at Finn’s hip right up until they reach the doors, at which point Finn has to push him over to the side in order for him to stay behind the door._ _

__“Finn, I resent this,” he whispers heatedly._ _

__“It’s too late, you already agreed,” Finn whispers back. “Now please be quiet.”_ _

__If Hux ever finds out Finn brought someone this close to the lab, someone really will be murdered._ _

__Finn takes a deep breath as he reaches for the handles of the doors, willing his hands not to shake._ _

__He knows there is no way to predict what he will find in here, but he knows it won’t be good._ _

__The doors creak open as he pushes them slowly, the sound somehow making the situation even more haunting. For a brief moment, he really wishes Poe could be right at his side, going in with him, rather than standing behind the door, free from witnessing whatever horrors Finn is once again going to have to face alone._ _

__The door opens to more silence, and Finn is first greeted by the sight of an upturned table that is now surrounded by shattered glass, spilled vials, and broken equipment._ _

__That would have been a horrific sight on a regular day. But he needs only to turn his line of vision towards the other side of the room to see the source of all the fright this evening._ _

__A man lays still on the ground, a puddle of dark red blood pooling around him. Blood is splattered not only all over the man’s clothes, but on the tables and equipment around him._ _

__Most of the blood however, seems to be seeping from a large wound in his head, a wound severe enough that Finn doesn’t even have to look into the man’s inert eyes to know that he is dead._ _

__However when he does look at the man’s nightmarishly lifeless face, Finn is astounded to discover he is looking at the body of Professor Skywalker._ _

__But even more ghastly is the image of the figure towering above the Professor’s dead form, staring down at it with fury-ridden eyes._ _

__Kylo Ren stands over the body, his blood covered hands clenched into fists, his chest moving rapidly, out of breath, his teeth gnashed in hatred._ _

__Specks of red scatter along his clothes and his skin as his body shakes in quieted rage._ _

__Finn steps back bringing the door shut as slowly and as quietly as he can, thankful for the absence of light so that Poe will not be able to see the look on his face._ _

__“Well?!” Poe demands, his voice a bit louder now, making Finn cringe in horror as he prays the creature doesn’t overhear them._ _

__“Accident,” Finn answers, surprised that he is able to cover the terror in his voice. “Just an accident. Something fell and broke.”_ _

__“Well… what about the screaming?” Poe questions, almost seeming a bit let down that this is the only description Finn is giving._ _

__“Someone might have broken in,” Finn replies, careful to keep his tone flat, feeling his hands trembling. “The back door was open.”_ _

__Finn leans against the wall, closing his eyes as his heart sinks far down his chest, while Poe seems adamant to get a better explanation._ _

__“Go and get Rey,” Finn tells him once he’s sure he’s gotten a handle on his nerves once more. “Tell her everything’s alright. Just a… a small mishap with the equipment.”_ _

__Poe surely isn’t satisfied with this, but decides not to push any further, turning to run back up the stairs into the house after casting one more unsure glance toward where Finn still leans against the wall._ _

__He rests his hands on his knees, taking a few breaths in an attempt to stop the nausea in his stomach at the thought of the mutilated body just behind the door._ _

__After a moment or two, he decides his only option at this point is to go out and try to find Hux and tell him what happened. Surely he will see this event as the final straw._ _

__It turns out, he doesn’t have to go far to find Hux at all. He nearly runs into him after preparing to go dashing out the front door._ _

__“Finn,” Hux steps back before he can go crashing into the man. “What in the world are you doing? I've just returned back from the apothecary and the blacksmith, I was able to-”_ _

“He murdered the Professor,” Finn speaks, unable to keep the words from leaving his mouth any longer. “Hux, Skywalker is dead, that… that _thing _, he…”__

______“What do you mean?” Hux asks, his voice a hushed whisper now as he steps into the house, slamming the door closed behind him and looking about to make sure no one else is near. “What the hell happened? Skywalker isn’t even supposed to be here, he left for Ach-To days ago.”_ _ _ _ _ _

____“Well his dead body is in your basement, so I’d say-”_ _ _ _

____“Keep your voice down,” Hux scorns at him before hastening into the room and tearing down the stairs, Finn following behind him._ _ _ _

____They stop at the now locked doors to the lab, Hux taking out the keys he always keeps with him in the pocket of his coat._ _ _ _

____“You left the doors unlocked,” Finn mentions, his voice hardly above a mumble._ _ _ _

____“I most certainly did not,” Hux denies, not even looking back at him before opening the doors and rushing inside._ _ _ _

____Finn’s stomach lurches as he watches Hux simply barge in without any subterfuge, knowing that monster is completely loose and free to pounce on anyone who walks through the door._ _ _ _

____He finds Hux standing in the middle of the room, staring appallingly at the scene before him._ _ _ _

____“Good Lord,” Hux whispers unsettlingly as Finn creeps into the lab after him, leaving the door open behind him for now in case they need to make a quick escape._ _ _ _

____But the creature is not standing where it had been before._ _ _ _

____Finn walks further into the room now, feeling a bit more encouraged now that the creature isn’t in sight, but also more disturbed all the same._ _ _ _

____“I swear, he was right there standing-”_ _ _ _

____His words are cut off as the feeling of cold metal wraps around his throat, yanking him back, as if a chain had been caught around his neck._ _ _ _

____Finn chokes and struggles as he is lifted off his feet and thrown down against one of the shelves, causing the contents of glass vials to come crashing down on him, a few of them cutting into his skin._ _ _ _

____He looks up to see it was Kylo Ren who had grabbed him, the bones in his fingers feeling more akin to steel than a human hand._ _ _ _

____He backs away, but there is nowhere to go but further into the shattered glass and broken shelf he is now cornered against, with the creature above him, its eyes foaming with crazed vehemence as he reaches down and grabs Finn by the front of his shirt, heaving him back up and hurling him back against the ground._ _ _ _

____Finn is dazed after his impact with the stone floor, but manages to take the opportunity to start crawling away now that he is no longer cornered._ _ _ _

____He turns back however when he hears Kylo roar angrily, and sees Hux struggling with him, attempting to stick him with another sedative._ _ _ _

____But Kylo has caught his arm, and Finn can see that it will not take long for the bones to break the way he is gripping the limb in his deadly grasp._ _ _ _

____Finn leaps to his feet, keeping his balance as best he can, though in his line of vision, the room looks a bit tilted._ _ _ _

____He grabs a piece of broken equipment, wrapping his hands around the end._ _ _ _

____Before he can rethink anything, he gears up and swings it full force at the creature’s head._ _ _ _

____This does indeed cause it to stagger back a bit, releasing it’s hold on Hux’s arm, causing Hux to cry out in relief, before he charges forward again, this time landing the needle deeply into the monster’s neck._ _ _ _

____Kylo growls in anguish as the thick needle breaks violently through his skin, and just before Hux can plunge the sedative into his veins, he throws his arm out, striking Hux against his head and sending him toppling back down to the ground._ _ _ _

____Finn moves immediately, running up behind the creature and taking ahold of the syringe, pressing down on it and sending the sedative into its body._ _ _ _

____He wastes no time running back before the creature can strike at him next, but its movements are staggered once again as it blindly claws for the needle sticking out of its neck._ _ _ _

____It does manage to extract the syringe, tossing it down to the ground before turning on Finn, but it can only manage two steps before dropping to its hands and knees, straining with exhaustion as it tries beating the drug in its system. But it of course is no use._ _ _ _

____Hux stands from where he was thrown, looking as roughed up as Finn feels, but managing to move steadily to where Kylo had fallen and reaching down to grab its arm._ _ _ _

____“Move it back to the table,” he orders as Finn moves over to grab the other arm._ _ _ _

____It’s a struggle once again to lug the massive thing all the way back to the table, even more so that they have to maneuver around all the turned over tables and broken equipment. And the large amounts of blood._ _ _ _

____Once they get back over to the examination table, Finn can see the straps have been torn._ _ _ _

____“How are we going to hold him?” Finn asks in a panic, knowing the sedative will wear off within the hour._ _ _ _

____“As I was about to tell you,” Hux explains as they both pant and huff as they try heaving Kylo up onto the table. “I went to a blacksmith today and got new restraints. Metal.”_ _ _ _

____He stands up and heads for the bag he had brought with him that had gotten tossed aside in the madness._ _ _ _

____Finn slowly looks to where there is still a dead body lying on the floor while Hux shuffles through his bag to get the restraints._ _ _ _

____Just as Finn is about to point out that there is still the matter of the murdered man they have to discuss, Hux beats him to it._ _ _ _

____“We’re going to have to get rid of that body,” he says as he begins latching the shiny metal bracelets around Kylo’s wrists and onto the table. “And clean up this mess. If he told anyone where he was going, there might be people snooping around when he doesn’t return.”_ _ _ _

____Finn can only stare astoundedly at him as he continues about locking Kylo down to the table with intense focus, as if he hadn’t just casually mentioned covering up a murder._ _ _ _

____“Hux… we have to tell someone,” he pleads as he watches Hux continue locking the metal restraints on Kylo’s waist and ankles. “We can explain that… this all got out of hand. Kylo Ren is already a murderer after all, we can just explain that we…”_ _ _ _

____“That we what?” Hux asks, ceasing his work and looking up at him with frustrated helplessness. “That we reanimated his body and kept him down here, knowing full well what we were doing the whole time?”_ _ _ _

____Finn searches for a defense, but can find none._ _ _ _

____“We will tell no one of this,” Hux speaks in a deadly quiet tone, his eyes staring daggers into Finn, demanding his cooperation. “You and I will be deemed murderers, do you understand that? It was our ‘immoral’ work that caused this to happen in the first place. We will be seen to be as dangerous as this animal.”_ _ _ _

____He gestures down to where Kylo lays, now clad in metal restraints that Finn is unsure will hold him back._ _ _ _

“We will be locked up forever, or more likely, executed,” Hux finishes, twisting the final lock on the last band of metal. “If we want to keep our lives, that body needs to be disposed of, and this room needs to look spotless. _Tonight _.”__


	7. Chapter 7

Finn stands silently beside Hux, the both of them watching the black water of the hidden lake in the forest.

The air is tense, as if the both of them are nervously waiting to see if the body they’d just thrown in is going to pop back up. 

It’s far past midnight now, because they had to wait until everyone in the house was in bed before hauling a dead body down the hall and out through the back doors to get to the forest nearby the backyard. 

Finn has never felt more sick in his life. Even the dead bodies they’ve been experimenting on for months were things he never really came into too close contact with. Hux mostly took care of it all. And now, he had just mopped up what felt like a hundred gallons of blood, wrapped the body of a murdered man in a sheet, and helped carry it up and out of the basement, out here where they unceremoniously dumped into the water and watched it sink. 

“I think it should be fine now,” Hux nods after what feels like hours, waiting in haunted silence while the two morbidly pray the body stays at the bottom of the lake. “The rocks in the bag should keep it down. Then the fish will take care of the rest.”

Finn closes his eyes momentarily before trying to gulp down his disgust.

“Hux… we have to get rid of it.”

“Get rid of what?”

“That… monster.”

He shakes his head, turning away from the cursed lake and reaching out to place his hand against the nearby trunk of a tree, leaning against it slightly before continuing. 

“This was all a horrible mistake Hux, you must realize that now. That thing we brought back to life is a mindless, confounded creature. If we don’t terminate it, it will only drag this nightmare out longer.”

Finn isn’t sure how he expected Hux to react to his words. All he knows is he has to say them. 

Still, Hux’s calm, unfazed reaction does surprise him.

“No,” he answers simply, still staring out at the lake, his hands crossed properly behind his back, as if he were merely viewing a rather boring game of Cricket. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Hux, can you not see how far this has gone? This is far beyond anything we planned for. There is nothing more to be gained from this experiment, aside from avoiding the inevitable longer than we already have.”

Finn sighs helplessly, putting a tired hand to his head, running it through his hair.

“If our fate is to be tried and executed for our crimes, then perhaps that is what we deserve,” he decides. 

“Nothing changes,” Hux refuses, and at this point, Finn is far beyond trying to argue with him once he’s made up his mind. 

Hux turns away from the lake and begins walking briskly back towards the house.

“I’m not done yet,” he adds as he brushes past Finn on his way out of the woods.

Rey awakens rather late the next morning, but she is pleased to feel as if she has finally gotten enough sleep. It’s still a bit difficult to fall asleep in her new environment, but she can at least make it through most hours of the night now without laying awake and staring at the ceiling for all hours on end. 

Her mind was a bit exhausted after last night, though she was reassured that the commotion with the Professor in the basement wasn't as horrid as it had sounded. It did frighten her a bit to learn that someone had broken in, and Skywalker was greatly injured while trying to stop the intruder. He had to be sent to some hospital all the way in Dantooine. But Finn had assured her that new locks had been put on the doors immediately, so hopefully there will be no more such occurrences. 

It is a pleasant and welcomed surprise after such an exhausting turn of events, to find that something has arrived for her once she comes downstairs for breakfast. 

A group of very excited looking female servants bring over a sizable package as she sits at the table eating her eggs and toast. 

“Dropped off just an hour ago, Miss,” one of them says eagerly. “I do hope you don’t mind… we just had a peek.”

“It’s perfectly alright,” Rey smiles, accepting the already opened box in her hands. “Did the messenger say who it was from?”

“He said it’s been waiting amongst your family’s belongings for years,” another one of the servants says as they all gather around her in suspense. “If I may, Miss… he said it was in your parents’ will to send it here to you once you’ve turned eighteen.” 

Rey is able to guess what it is based on the variety of clues and the fact that her family seemed to have only one thing in mind for her their entire lives. 

After lifting the lid of the large white box and pulling aside the paper that has clearly already been opened, her eyes are met with the sight of an ivory colored wedding gown and a neatly folded lace veil. 

In less than an hour, Rey has shed her robe and nightgown, and is standing atop a small crate in front of a full length mirror that had been pulled into the middle of the ballroom, the small group of female servants around her, helping her into the old fashioned gown. 

“It’s perfect!” one of them exclaims, running her fingers along the satin material. 

“Oh, you look stunning!” 

“You are going to be just gorgeous on your wedding day!”

It’s such a strange image of herself she sees reflected in the glass. 

It does restore an odd sense of hope in her, seeing herself as a bride, the only role she’s had to look forward to most of her life. But it’s so different now that she’s been here a while and knows that her husband to be is far from what she expected. 

It almost fits perfectly. A bit big in the shoulders. It will have to be taken in a little. The gown is a pearl white color with an overlapping ivory skirt. The sleeves are long, and a bit stiff, but she supposes that’s how they’re supposed to feel. One is supposed to look incredibly conservative on their wedding day after all. 

She reaches up to gently touch the veil pinned in her hair. It’s a thin, single layer of lace that only goes down slightly past her hips.

It’s a simple look, but it suits her, in a way. 

Still, she isn’t quite getting the feeling she’s sure a bride is supposed to get when looking at herself in her wedding gown. 

Seeing movement from behind her in the reflection of the mirror, she turns quickly to see none other than Poe and Hux crossing the hall past the open doors of the ballroom.

Both look deep in conversation, their expressions darkened and serious, until Poe happens to glance over, seeing Rey standing atop her crate, draped in wedding garments, and his previous countenance is suddenly swept away, and now he couldn’t look happier. 

“Do I hear wedding bells already?” he asks as he walks forward, grinning broadly as Rey returns his smile, blushing slightly as he looks her over with amazement. “Rey, you look absolutely stunning. I can say without a shred of dishonesty that you put as all to shame.” 

“Thank you,” she nods gratefully. “It just arrived this morning, I had no idea… well, that I even had one at all.”

“Of course you do!” Poe encourages, holding out his hand and helping her step down from the crate. “Every bride must have a wedding gown, mustn't she?” 

He holds her arms out, admiring the fine gown.

“You have to admit Hux, you’re a lucky man,” Poe calls over to where Hux has seemed to step begrudgingly into the room. “There are many who will be jealous of you once you two leave the altar. Does she not make the most beautiful bride you have ever seen?”

Rey feels most appreciative of Poe’s uplifting words, but she can already feel the immense weight of Hux’s disinterest, which does not encourage her at all. 

“Dameron, I think our conversation would be better suited to take place in my office,” he speaks, as if nothing had broken their discussion at all. He doesn’t even seem to be aware that Rey is in the room at all, let alone in a wedding gown meant for the day of their union. 

Poe’s expression sinks once more, and he raises his eyes to cast Rey a rather apologetic gaze, which she is again thankful for, but is also embarrassed of how much pity she receives from everyone in this house.

“The next time I see you like this, you will be moments away from becoming a wife,” he assures her, his voice more quiet, as if he were wishing for only her to hear his words. 

“Hopefully that day is soon,” she replies, though her smile rings with forced enthusiasm as he drops her hands, letting her arms fall to her sides. 

Poe turns slowly, his face morphing back into the hardened expression he had initially had whilst walking along the hall with Hux. 

Hux seems strangely emotionless, as if he’s being careful to not let Poe know what’s going on inside his head, how he feels about whatever the other man is saying to him. 

The mood in the room has dropped significantly, as if everyone has suddenly been forced back down to Earth, into reality, where the excitement of a wedding dress seems a bit frivolous. 

“Will you be needing anything else, Miss?” one of the servants asks as the others begin preparing to take the mirror and the crate back to wherever they’d gotten them from. 

“Um… no, thank you,” Rey answers, curling her hands around her thick satin skirt as she looks down at herself. “But I think I’d like to stay in it a bit longer.You needn’t worry about returning to assist me, I’m sure I will be able to handle it on my own.” 

The servant nods, bowing her head slightly before shuffling out of the room along with the other girls. 

Rey is soon left alone, standing in the middle of the gorgeous copper and silver painted ballroom, the open windows showering in mountains of bright light from the clouded sky outside where the sun is trying as hard as it can to break through.

She just stands and stares for a moment or two, enjoying the silence in the large room, where she feels so small, almost as if she were the only person in the world, alone with only her thoughts and imagination of what the day will be like when she puts this gown on again. 

What will it be like, she wonders, to stand in front of an entire audience of people she doesn’t know, and profess her love for a man she is not falling in love with, and whom she’s sure now will never love her? Will a wedding even take place at all? Or will she finally be sent away one day, a final nuisance Hux decides to cut off, leaving her more alone than she is now, destined to die on the streets with nothing to her name, easily forgotten by everyone? 

Such dark thoughts to be having while dressed in a wedding gown, but Rey can’t help but sense her destiny leading her to a dark and lonely end. 

A small thud shakes through the floor, forcing her out of her frightful thoughts, and making her turn sharply towards the open doors, wondering if someone had dropped something.

Nothing but silence follows, and she’s about to begin walking back towards the stairs and up to her room to take this dress off, but she stops after taking two steps, again feeling a muffled noise tremble through the floor. 

Something coming from below the house. 

She moves quietly out into the hallway, looking around in each direction to see if others have heard the clattering, but the house feels as silent as a tomb, everyone working on whatever business they have to attend to behind closed doors. 

Her eyes eventually move toward the dark stairs leading down to the basement, the only place the noise could have been coming from.

Glancing around again, she is sure there is no one nearby. She knows Hux and Poe had gone upstairs, and Finn had left earlier this morning to go into town. He can’t have returned yet. 

There should be no one down there. 

Another thump, that makes her jostle in surprise now that she’s closer to the source of the noise.

What if something is wrong? What if there has been an accident? What if there is somehow another intruder? Only this time, there is no one here to help.

Just her.

As she slowly begins creeping toward the shadowy staircase, she is amazed to not feel any sense of fear, or even adrenaline. Because maybe deep down, she knows there is no intruder. Maybe she really wants to go down here to finally see what has been going on, rather than to try and help stop something from going wrong. If she were really worried about an accident or someone breaking in, she would go upstairs and inform Poe and Hux. 

Her satin gown drags softly against the stone steps as she walks into the darkness of the basement, seeing every inch of light coming from the house begin to fade away as she ventures further down, eventually in almost complete darkness, hardly able to make out the pair of wooden doors that must lead into the secret laboratory. 

Reaching forward, her hands curl around one of the rusted handles. Pushing gently, she finds the door pop open, surprisingly unlocked. 

Rey would think that, if Hux is so adamant about keeping things completely secret and unable to be seen by anyone, he would be extra sure to keep the doors locked when he isn’t in there, though perhaps the mind might forget about something so trivial seeming after a while.

In any event, she is rather thankful the doors have been mistakenly left unlocked. 

She opens the door to find an incredibly large and darkly lit room, filled with a whole matter of strange looking devices, tables filled with vials and large vats of odd looking liquid, and machines that twist and wind all the way around the entire room, up to the ceiling even. 

She has never seen anything like it, and finds herself quite mesmerized by all of the expensive and complicated looking equipment, wondering what this could all be for. 

Rey has become so lost in her fascination, that she momentarily forgets why she even came down here, that is until the thumping noise now clearly rings through the room, making her heart startle as she jerks her head over to see what had made the noise.

There is someone standing there. Across the room, facing away from her, and standing beside some sort of table.

Rey’s mouth hangs open as she feels herself freeze, thinking perhaps she has indeed stumbled upon yet another intruder. 

But as she looks closer, she sees the figure’s wrist is somehow latched down to the table, circled by a metal ring that it is now pulling at. 

Looking down at the rest of the table, she sees a whole matter of the same metal rings, broken. 

She continues to watch, immobilized as the figure tugs and tugs, gripping the table with one hand as it tries yanking its wrist free of the ring, finally succeeding with one last thump that echoes through the room. 

Something about the sound suddenly snaps Rey out of her temporary trance, and she stumbles back a bit, hoping to turn and quietly slip out the door, as if she were never here. 

But her blood goes cold when she feels her hip nudge into the edge of one of the tables, making her jump, and sending the table skidding back a good couple of feet. 

The figure now turns around to face her, and though Rey can’t see much past a mess of jet black hair, she can make out a pair of incandescent eyes, red with anger and directed towards her. 

It begins charging towards her, reaching out to push whatever tables or equipment in his way off to the side, as if they were nothing more than curtains he was brushing away.

Rey turns to run, panic and fear choking through her as she feels her limbs shake and stiffen with dread, making her movements feel all the more slow compared to the figure’s rapid pace as he lunges closer to her. 

Her hand reaches out and grasps around the door handle, and she pulls it open frantically, seconds from running back out into the dark basement and towards the stairs, until something snags against her veil, yanking her head back.

Damn those servants for pinning it in so well. 

She lets out a shriek as she’s dragged back into the room, the figure holding onto the thin lace material pinned her hair, before reaching around her and slamming the door closed.

She feels herself thrown up against the wall, the figure holding her there with impossible strength, as if she has been pinned down by a boulder. 

A hand presses against her throat, crushing down on her neck, silencing any sound she could hope to make.

Looking up at her attacker, she finds herself staring into the frenzied eyes of a madman. 

There is something so cold, broken, missing from the man’s face, as if he isn’t human at all. Even his touch is as cold and lifeless as his stare, as if death itself is wrapping around her neck. 

She feels her lungs ache for air while she claws uselessly at his arms, her vision blurring as her head begins to throb painfully, as if millions of needles had been inserted into her skull. 

Tears form in her eyes as she begins to wonder if she is really about to die in this moment, killed by this crazed man whom she doesn’t even know. 

But in a second, the hand is gone from her throat. 

Rey gasps in relief, slumping against the wall and the man’s grip as she returns the oxygen to her lungs and head, tears of exhaustion spilling down her face. 

Once her sight has come back into focus, she sees the man still staring at her intently, but every drop of rage and hatred is gone. 

Rey is almost sure she is looking at an entirely different man. 

His face is softened, his eyes are pouring over her in confusion, amazement, wonder, as if she were something he has never seen before. 

Forgetting her fright, Rey can only stare back at the man’s face, puzzled as he studies her so closely, his hand reaching forward towards her face.

She startles as his fingers brush along her lips, her chin, then her cheek, but is surprised to find his touch gentle, as opposed to his otherwise violent gestures. 

After a moment, she finds herself beginning to become lost in his eyes, transfixed at how they have changed so suddenly.

She is so captured by his gaze, that she nearly cries out in surprise when someone leaps in out of nowhere, stabbing something into the man’s neck.

The tall, dark haired man growls in anger, wavering away from her as he reaches for whatever had been stuck into his neck.

Rey looks up to see Finn standing behind the man, a syringe in one hand as he steps slowly away from the lumbering man, watching him closely as he begins to collapse to the ground, his eyes growing heavy, his arms waving uselessly about, clawing at nothing but air. 

“Are you ok?” Finn asks, running up to her, his eyes wide with worry as he seems to look her over to see if she’s injured. 

Too stunned to properly answer, she is stuck looking dumbly between him, and the man he had just knocked out, currently lying on the ground in a heap. 

“Who is that?” she asks once she’s sure her voice has returned to her. 

Finn looks down at the man, following her gaze as he quickly takes her in his arms, leading her to the door.

“You need to get out of here,” he orders, making sure she is outside the door before running back towards the open back doors from which he came through, shutting and locking them with a heavy looking chain. 

Rey backs out into the dark basement slowly as Finn rushes back over to her, closing the doors once he’s out beside her, then reaching into his pocket for a key, which he quickly turns in the keyhole next to the handle. 

“Finn, I don’t understand what’s-”

“Never go back down there again,” he commands after turning to face her, though she can hardly see him clearly, and placing his hands firmly on her shoulders. 

“Not until you tell me what’s going on!” she demands, planting her feet into the ground. “If you don’t tell me who that was, I’ll go straight to the police.”

Finn seems beyond conflicted, trying to come up with an argument, another excuse, but Rey can tell it’s pointless now. She’s seen enough that it’s no use in trying to hide it.

So, in that moment, he tells her everything. 

The experiments, the dead bodies, the secret research… Kylo Ren, the dead murderer they have resurrected from the dead. Every detail of the this horrifying study they have been performing all this time. 

Rey wants to not believe any of it. She prays it’s all some kind of cruel joke. Bringing bodies back to life… that’s sacrilegious. Not to mention, impossible.

Now that she knows, she wishes so much that she didn’t. She wishes she could have been content forever in not knowing what horrible things Finn and Hux have been doing all this time. 

She can only stand in stunned silence, unable to see anything in the darkness aside from a sliver of Finn’s face illuminated from the small amount of light dripping down from the stairs that crawl deep into the basement. 

Being in such a foreboding place makes Finn’s admission seem all the more like something out of a dark fairytale. 

“That thing is dangerous,” he tells her, as if he felt he didn’t instill the warning enough. “He is a mindless murderer, and he won’t hesitate to kill you as soon as he looks at you.”

_But he did hesitate… ___

__“Promise me you won’t ever go down there again, Rey,” he asks, his voice desperate now._ _

__It takes a moment, but she eventually nods slowly, before remembering he probably can’t see her._ _

__“I won’t,” she replies, her voice sounding numbed._ _

__It’s quiet now, and Finn eventually drops his hands away from her arms, where he’d still been gripping them, as if he had needed to feel her to make sure she was there._ _

__“And Rey… you must swear that you will never speak a word of this to anyone. Not Poe, not even Hux. He can’t know that you are… aware.”_ _

__Rey has never felt so overwhelmed in her life with something that isn’t even her responsibility. What a horrible secret to keep. What a horrible thing to know of, keeping in the back of your mind that your fiancé has been performing gruesome work behind closed doors._ _

__Yet she knows, even if she wanted to, she could tell no one. Who would believe her? And honestly, in this moment, she would prefer to push the entire ordeal out of her mind, and happily live out the rest of her days acting as if she never saw or heard a thing about all of this._ _

__“I promise.”_ _


	8. Chapter 8

Late that night, Hux works intensely in the laboratory, bent over the numerous test readings he has taken from the creature. 

Everything is going just as he had planned. The creature is in perfect condition, everything down to the smallest blood cell operating as any other living human. The only part of him that remains abnormal is the brain, but he had expected that. It really would be a feat to be able to bring a previously dead brain back to functioning as if nothing had ever happened.

Finn had informed him hours ago that the creature had escaped its bindings once again and had attacked him once he came in through the back doors, but he had thankfully been able to sedate it. Hux certainly was surprised that the metal bands hadn’t worked, but as of now, there is nothing stronger. So this time, he locked the metal cuffs all along the creature’s arms, legs, and torso, even his neck, thinking it would hold him for now until he could find something stronger to secure him. 

However, Hux underestimates the creature’s growing cleverness. 

Whilst he is busy rushing this way and that, running back up to his office and down to the laboratory, he misses Kylo Ren silently slipping out of each and every cuff, pretending to still be sedated whenever he senses the man possibly looking back over at him. 

He is able to pull himself out of every restraint, finally reaching up to his neck, waiting until Hux is distracted enough again before pulling it off with a quiet thud that is muffled by some of the equipment that is currently running the various tests being performed. 

He rises from the table, his fury-laden eyes trained on Hux’s turned back as he stalks closer to the man, careful to stay silent until he is right behind him, close enough to attack without any retaliation.

It takes one swing to the head for Kylo to knock the man out cold, sending him crashing against the ground, blood dripping from the wound now in his skull.

Kylo stands above the man, his hands curled into fists as he feels the mind numbing anger reverberate through him.

But he holds back, looking towards the doors that lead out of this wretched place.

He moves over to the unlocked doors, pushing them open and stepping out into the dark hallway, easily finding the stairs that lead up into the house. 

The girl… he needs to find the girl…

Rey had been distant the rest of the day. After glumly removing herself from her wedding gown and changing back into a normal dress, she stayed in her room for most of the day, only coming down when she couldn’t stand another hour not eating and decided to attend dinner, though dreading it. 

Poe of course noticed her change in attitude right away, and immediately started putting out his usual charms and humor to try and cheer her up, no doubt assuming she was simply in another saddened mood. 

She did her best to force a smile and act pleasant for the entirety of dinner, but even she could see that she too had delved into the hypnotically silent state that Finn is constantly in. The side effects that accompany carrying a burden so awful. 

Poe had finally given up and asked her flat out what was wrong, but she of course dodged around the question, insisting she was worn out and needed to get to bed early. 

So now, here she is, laying wide awake in her bed, the windows cracked open to let in a slight breeze that moves the curtains in a ghostly way, casting strange patterned shadows along the walls from the small candle flickering on the bedside table. 

She can think of nothing but that man downstairs. That man Finn had called a monster, a murderous beast with no ability to feel anything at all. 

But she recalls seeing no evil in his eyes when he had looked upon her. There was no trace of a vicious killer once he had released his hand from her throat, looking at her as if he were astonished by something. 

The memory of his eyes stays with her in the hours she spends desperately trying to sleep, but she finds she is as restless as she was that night of the thunderstorm that had kept her awake throughout the night, though this time the storm is raging merely inside her own mind. 

She gets to the point where she is wavering in and out of consciousness, hardly awake, but not all the way to sleep. 

She is sure she is dreaming when she hears thumping reverberating through the house, growing louder and closer to her room, so she doesn’t stir, hoping that she is simply sinking further into the great relief of sleep.

But Rey is shocked quite violently out of her daze once the door to her bedroom is thrown open, so hard it surely almost flies off the hinges. 

She can’t even find the strength to sit up, her body is so seized with fright. She can only lie still against the bed as she watches the large silhouette of a hulking figure step into the room, it’s head turning to stare around the walls before finally settling its gaze on her.

The man steps forward, the small light from the tiny, flickering candle on the bedside table casting a haunting glow across his face that Rey immediately recognizes, having just been dwelling on it endlessly for the past few hours. 

Kylo Ren. 

Her scream is paralyzed in her throat, mostly because she’s completely unsure of what is about to happen. In the back of her mind, she remembers what Finn had told her about this man being the resurrected corpse of a psychotic murderer. But something in his eyes, as he stands above her, moving closer and closer to her bed, leaning over her helpless body, tells her he isn’t about to slash her to death. 

She feels her heart drop to her stomach when the man’s hand shoots out towards her, closing around her throat like it had before down in the lab.

But this time, he yanks her up to a sitting position, then snatches her up in his arms, ripping her away from the bed. 

She flails in his arms for a moment, but he holds her firmly, turning and barging out of the room as abruptly as he had marched in. 

“What are you doing?” she tries demanding, but her voice comes out hardly above a whisper as she is whisked off down the hall, down the stairs. 

He doesn’t look at her or speak to her. He just holds her, his strength making it impossible to writhe away, and carries her downstairs. He doesn’t even stop at the front door once they get there. He just throws a single kick that sends one of the double doors clear off its hinges. 

Rey can’t help but instinctively hug herself closer to the man’s chest when the ice cold air washes over her once they’re outside. She is wearing nothing but the thin lace nightgown that is more than adequate for being in a warm bed, but feels like less than a table cloth when out in the night air. 

Kylo carries her down the steps and down the path leading away from the house, towards the darkened streets of town that seem abandoned at this late hour, nothing but dim street lamps lighting the cobblestone streets. 

_Why can’t I scream… Where is he taking me? ___

__It is only once Kylo has taken her well into the maze of buildings and shops and inns that make up the large town, that Rey finally feels her survival instincts kick in._ _

__She screams, and kicks, and claws, and demands to be released, thinking that Kylo will eventually have to at least readjust himself to continue to hold her properly, or perhaps stop to try to silence her commotion, giving her a chance to wriggle away and run._ _

__But he keeps walking, simply tightening his unyielding grip, his eyes forward, staring off to something far ahead of him, as if dead set on whatever destination he intends to bring her to._ _

__

__Finn returns to the lab at an incredibly late hour, ensuring no one will see him sneaking in through the back doors with a mysterious looking package in his hands. New restraints he had been ordered to pick up from a highly expensive blacksmith in Dantooine._ _

__He isn’t sure why he expected everything to be going along smoothly once he entered the laboratory. Maybe he simply wishes for the minimal excitement of hoping that no passerbys caught his suspicious nightly activity, rather than having to deal with the consequences of resurrecting a brutal murderer._ _

__But when opening the doors tonight, he finds no trace of Kylo Ren, aside from a table of more broken restraints._ _

__“Good God,” he whispers, the discreet package in his arms dropping to the ground as he steps further into the room._ _

__He’s about to call out for Hux, but his stomach lurches when he peers over one of the tables to see a body lying crumpled against the floor._ _

__“Hux!” he cries out in alarm, taking two leaps forward, but then quickly turning back to close and lock the doors tightly behind him._ _

__Once he has kneeled beside Hux’s slowly stirring form, he can see there is a gash in the side of the man’s head where a small, and thankfully not alarming amount of blood is slowly trickling from._ _

__“Hux, what happened?” he asks, still worriedly scanning the otherwise empty lab while Hux slowly sits up, groaning a bit in discomfort as he reaches up to hold his wound._ _

__“Why are you asking me?” Hux replies, blinking a couple of times to try and steady his no doubt blurred vision. “I feel like a stone building just fell on me.”_ _

__“Well, you can start by telling me what the hell you were doing,” Finn orders while Hux reaches up to cling onto the nearby table, pulling himself shakily back onto his feet. “And why you’ve allowed him to get loose again.”_ _

__Hux looks as if he’s about to ask Finn what the hell he is talking about, before a look of worry and outrage morphs over his face._ _

__“Where is it?” he asks, now matching Finn’s frantic movements, looking around the laboratory for the missing creature._ _

__Finn looks over towards the cracked open door leading back into the house, his blood going ice cold._ _

__“It escaped,” he breathes as he rises slowly to his feet, his ears straining to hear the noise that he is sure will fill the air any second now._ _

__Sure enough, before either men can speak another word, the sound of horrified screaming shrieks out from somewhere far off outside the house._ _

__

__“How far could it have gotten with her?” Finn asks, already out of breath before he and Hux have barely begun their trek down towards town, where a woman’s screams are still echoing from._ _

__“Who knows,” Hux huffs, his eyes narrowed and focused solely on the path before them, loading up his father’s rifle he had gone and grabbed from his office before the two had rushed out. “But we have to get to him before that screaming awakens the entire damn town!”_ _

__“Hey!”_ _

__The two men both turn back towards the house where another figure is now running through the empty space where one of the front doors had been torn off._ _

_God, no…_

______“Poe, please go back inside,” Finn begs as the man dashes over to them, his own pistol in his hands, his eyes wide as he scans over every inch in front of him, as if expecting to find the source of the commotion immediately before him._ _ _ _ _ _

____“Who the hell is screaming?” he asks, his face alight with fear and worry, ever willing to be the knight in shining armor. “It sounds like a woman is in trouble.”_ _ _ _

____Finn is frozen, overwhelmed as he looks helplessly to Poe, whose eyes trail down to the large syringe held in one of his outstretched hands._ _ _ _

____Before he can somehow explain that, after rushing upstairs and finding the door to Rey’s bedroom wide open, he discovered absolutely no sign of the young woman, Hux steps back to fill Poe in himself._ _ _ _

____“Rey has just been snatched up by a mindless murderer. If either of you have any interest in sparing her life, we won’t waste another moment here stuttering about.”_ _ _ _

____Finn cringes as Poe looks between the two men, thousands of unspoken questions flying through the air. But there is nothing to be said now._ _ _ _

____The three men charge off into town, their respective weapons loaded and ready to fire into the vile monster that dared to try and run off with Rey._ _ _ _

____Finn is at a loss trying to think of what the creature would want with her. Rey, who has done nothing to harm anyone, who has only treated everyone she’s come across with unmatched kindness that even touched his own heart… now, in the hands of that murderous abomination._ _ _ _

_God, why did she have to become involved in this… please, let her be unharmed…_

________“I am not entirely sure what is going on here,” Poe speaks quietly to Finn as they all creep down the streets that are ever slowly lighting with the dull yellow glows coming from high windows, no doubt where people are awakening to the troubling sounds of a woman’s screams. “But I am assuming it has everything to do with your super secret research.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn, by this point, is honestly too ashamed to answer. He knows there will be no protecting Poe from any of this after tonight. If any of them even survive whatever is about to come._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m so sorry, Poe,” is all he can say, without even looking his love in the eye. “None of this was supposed to happen.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Hux hardly seems as if he overhears the words exchanged between the two men behind him. He of course seems more concerned with the numerous lights glowing to life and heads poking out of cracked open windows, people craning to see the source of the horrid noise._ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn isn’t worried of any outside interference. He’s lived in this town long enough to know there are plenty of gossip mongers and sad bored people looking for good entertainment. But no one will come out of these buildings, willingly venturing into possible danger. They’re only eager to see if they can catch a glimpse of it._ _ _ _ _ _

______It feels like the longest walk one could ever take, especially during the brief intervals where Rey’s screaming ceases for a few dreadful moments, where Finn is torn between being hopeful she had somehow found a way to escape, and terrified that Kylo Ren had finished her off._ _ _ _ _ _

______However, after what feels like hours of scavenging the dark empty streets, Hux finally skids to a stop, his gaze cast down a distant alleway, where all three of the men turn to see a shadow moving jaggedly between the stone structures._ _ _ _ _ _

______The men race down the alleyway, Finn’s heart beating swiftly in his chest._ _ _ _ _ _

______Another scream rings out, this time so close, it sends chills down his spine as Poe picks up his pace, running past him and Hux, even when Finn tries to reach and grab him by his coat._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Stop!” Poe’s voice booms out over the streets, bouncing off the stone walls, and causing the figure in the distance to freeze in its tracks as Finn and Hux run up alongside where Poe is aiming his pistol at the monster that is still holding a struggling Rey in its arms._ _ _ _ _ _

______Rey freezes as well in the midst of scratching and kicking in the creature’s inhumanly strong hold, her eyes wide with worry and confusion as she spots the group of men once Kylo turns to sneer down at them._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Put her down, or I’ll shoot!” Poe commands, his tone sending out a definite ring of authority that Finn reckons any clever man would not pause to question. But it is not a man they are dealing with._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Poe, you can’t shoot from here,” Finn warns desperately as Kylo growls in rage, his grip tightening on the woman in his arms. “You could hit Rey.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m not a fool,” Poe whispers back to him, still keeping his pistol steadily aimed at his would be target. “No man wants to die.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“This isn’t a man,” Hux replies, stepping right past Finn and Poe, raising up his rifle with a calculating aim._ _ _ _ _ _

______He fires before Finn even has a chance to protest._ _ _ _ _ _

______Rey lets out another scream as the bullet flies inches in front of her face before striking Kylo in the shoulder._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You fool!” Finn shouts, grabbing ahold of the rifle and aiming it down before Hux can fire another careless shot. Though he has to admit, the bullet had struck exactly where it needed to go._ _ _ _ _ _

______Kylo falls to the ground, Rey slipping from his arms and onto the cold stone ground, while he touches a hand to his wound, gritting his teeth at the pain, but also looking fascinated by the dark blood now covering his hand and seeping from his shoulder._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Run!” Poe calls out to Rey, moving forward as he takes careful aim with his pistol at the creature, who now turns to look back at Rey._ _ _ _ _ _

______But she is frozen before him, sitting up on the palms of her hands, her mouth slightly open as the stares frantically between the creature’s eyes, and the wound in his shoulder._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Rey, get away from it!” Finn screams desperately once the monster starts reaching for her again, a look of determination returning to its evil eyes._ _ _ _ _ _

______Another shot fires through the air, this time from Poe, and strikes the creature against the side of its chest, sending it falling back to the ground once again._ _ _ _ _ _

______This time, Rey seems to thankfully snap out of whatever trance she had temporarily been in, turning and crawling rapidly away from the beast, eventually getting back up onto her feet and running the rest of the way until she collides into the safety of Poe’s arms._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Give that to me,” Hux snaps, not waiting to rip the sedative out of Finn’s hand and marching over to where the monster now lies on the ground, pawing uselessly at the bullet holes in its body, and completely helpless as Hux jabs the needle firmly into its neck._ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn no longer feels a shred of remorse hearing the creature’s pained growls as he moves over to see if Rey is unscathed. Thankfully, aside from her town nightdress and a few scrapes on her arms, she seems intact._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Rey, are you alright?” he asks, placing a hand on her back as she turns from Poe’s embrace._ _ _ _ _ _

______He expected to see her a frightened mess, perhaps shaking, or weeping in terror and fear. But her expression appears jarringly calm, not a single tear running down her face. In fact, she looks rather assertive, if a bit tired._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m alright,” she answers him, nodding and reaching a hand up to his arm, as if he were the one in need of comfort. “He didn’t hurt me…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Well now that everyone is ok, can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?” Poe asks in as civilized a tone as he can muster as he watches Hux appear to be examining the unconscious murderer._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Go with Rey back to the house,” Finn asks of him, his eyes pleading. “Wait for me there until we return. I promise I will tell you everything.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Carrying/dragging an unconscious Kylo Ren all the way back across town to the mansion discreetly, is far from a dauntless task. Finn finds himself distracted the entire time, looking this way and that, praying every step of the way that he and Hux won’t turn a corner to a patrolling policeman, or perhaps a battalion of policemen who overheard the screaming and gunshots just moments ago._ _ _ _ _ _

______Somehow, with constant sliding against the walls and keeping within the shadows at a careful yet brisk pace, the two men are able to transport the body back safely to the laboratory._ _ _ _ _ _

______“This has gone too far now,” Finn pleads once they have the creature back on the examination table, and Hux is shooting as much sedatives into its neck as he can before beginning to clean up the blood still spilling from the bullet wounds. “Hux, Rey was almost harmed tonight… she could have been killed. We have no choice but to let this monster die now.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Hux seems to ignore him, going about stopping the bleeding from the wounds, until a rather amused grin spreads over his face._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You never really were fit for this work, Finn,” he says, grabbing a pair of tweezers and leaning over the shoulder wound. “Honestly, I don’t know why you ever agreed to it in the first place if you don’t have the balls to go through with it.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m done, Hux,” Finn tells him, refusing to let the man’s intimidation rule him any longer. “You may torment me all you wish, but I will take no further part in this. If you wish to continue on with your hellish experiments, you will do it alone.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Hux seems unaffected by his words as he goes about removing the bullet from the creature’s open wound._ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn almost jumps back when he sees the creature suddenly jerk its head, and he thinks it somehow overcame the sedatives Hux had put in its system at first. But as he stands and continues watching Hux poke through the bloody wound to find the bullet, and only the creature’s head moves about, with only a silenced goran escaping its lips, Finn realizes it must have been a paralysis drug that Hux had given it. Allowing it to feel every second of pain without hardly being able to move at all._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You’ve become nearly as monstrous as this creature,” Finn accuses, shaking his head in disbelief at the grotesque scene before him. “Perhaps you two deserve your own private hell, where you can go on torturing each other.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He is about to turn on his heel and storm out, before Hux calmly calls back to him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I do hope you have no ill-advised intent on going to the authorities, old friend,” he speaks, his voice an almost taunting warning._ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn glances back at him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“If you refuse to destroy this creature, you know I will have to,” he promises his employer. “You may fire me and throw me out of the house, or even implicate me. I deserve it anyhow for going along with this for so long. For helping you cover up a murder, and bringing this deranged killer back from the dead…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“It’s not only yourself and I you will be responsible for throwing into the lion’s den,” Hux continues, finally ripping the bullet free from the creature’s shoulder, causing it’s head to strain back in an attempt to writhe away from the pain, though the rest of its body remind paralyzed._ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn is about to ask what in the world he could be talking about, but the words freeze in his throat once he takes a horrible guess at what he means._ _ _ _ _ _

______Hux turns his head to look directly into his eyes now._ _ _ _ _ _

______“If there is a single detective or policeman poking around here, I will be sure to be nothing but completely honest with them,” Hux explains slowly, making sure Finn understands thoroughly. “If I am accused, you, Poe and Rey are going down with me.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“You wouldn’t,” Finn breathes, shaking his head. “You couldn’t do that to your own fiancé.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“What makes you think I wouldn’t?” Hux challenges, and Finn finds that he doesn’t have a counterargument._ _ _ _ _ _

______He sets his tools down onto the table, stepping around the agonized creature, his eyes locked on Finn’s._ _ _ _ _ _

______“The moment I am detained, I will tell every single person who convicts me that Poe and Rey were well aware of the experiments and the murder of the Professor the entire time. I don’t think anyone would find it hard to believe that my closest friend and my dear bride to be weren’t involved in my harrowing misdeeds, don’t you think?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn is at a loss at how to respond. He knows it is incredibly possible that Hux wouldn't think twice about condemning the whole household for his crimes. And the severity of this transgression will surely be enough to have all four of them executed._ _ _ _ _ _

______That is something Finn will not risk. And Hux knows it._ _ _ _ _ _

______So it seems, as of now, he is still a slave to Hux’s whims. Perhaps now, even more so._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______“We can’t tell a soul,” Finn begs Poe as the two of them sit together on Poe’s bed. “If we do, we will all be doomed.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______After checking on Rey to make sure she was sleeping soundly in her bed, Finn had gone into Poe’s room, where he had been waiting impatiently to finally get his much deserved explanation._ _ _ _ _ _

______So, for the past hour, Finn had been giving him exactly that, finally revealing everything he had kept painfully hidden for so long now._ _ _ _ _ _

______He always imagined this moment to feel relieving, but with the horrid threat looming over them both, it feels more terrifying._ _ _ _ _ _

______Poe seems to be taking this all extremely well despite the unbelievable circumstances. Then again, Finn has known his mind to simply work that way. Taking problems in and simply looking for the best way to solve it, rather than dwelling on the horror of it._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Poe, I… I fear this is my fault,” he admits, his feelings of guilt bubbling over as he stares at Poe’s concentrated expression that is directed down towards the floor. “I’ve let this go on for too long, now someone is dead, and Rey could have been next. Or you… Poe, I’m so sorry.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Now Poe turns to look at him, his eyes quickly softening._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Nothing about this is your fault,” he assures him, his arm reaching up to curl comfortingly around his shoulder. “He took advantage of you.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Not really,” Finn shrugs, now feeling more disgusted and ashamed of himself than ever. “I knew exactly what I was doing. I could have stopped it at any time.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“He would have implicated you either way,” Poe insists. “In fact, he probably would have tried to pin the whole thing on you.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He hadn’t even thought of that. How easy would it have been for a powerful man like Hux to convince people it was Finn who had pushed ungodly ideas into his head?_ _ _ _ _ _

______“He’s not well, Poe. I’ve seen him grow worse and worse through all of this, but now… it’s as if he’s gone mad.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Well, you’re right about one thing,” Poe sighs, leaning his chin against his hand, as if in deep thought once more. “We can’t go to the police. But we also can’t let this monster continue to roam around, especially with Rey here.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn shakes his head hopelessly before turning and looking back at him._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Then what do we do?”_ _ _ _ _ _


	9. Chapter 9

Rey spends much of the next day under close care from Finn and Poe, while Hux stays hidden away in the basement with Kylo, doing God knows what. 

Finn and Poe seem to be acting extra cautious with her, as if they were both constantly hoping she wouldn’t ask them about last night. As if they knew something they both didn’t want her to know.

She is certainly shaken by the events of last night. She would be a fool not to be afraid, she supposes. Yet she can’t help but feel she should be more afraid. She should want to get out of this house, away from the murderous creature in the basement, away from her fiancé’s wretched experiments that have brought the dead back to life. 

However, all she can feel in her heart, is a strange sense of worry. 

Worry of how quick everyone was to harm Kylo last night. Worry of what Hux could be doing to him right now. 

As much as she should have been terrified last night, and as much as she truly was a bit nervous of what he was going to do with her, she couldn’t help the spark of curiosity that had lit in her when he had seemed so determined to get them both wherever he had wanted to go.

Of course, the rational answer is that he probably was taking her somewhere to kill her and get rid of her body. But why would such a mindless heartless thing go through all of that trouble? And why did there continue to be such gentleness in his eyes when he had looked at her? When he had reached for her so desperately even after being shot… 

The only ones he had seemed violent towards were the people who were trying to hurt him. 

Rey dwells on these thoughts for most of the day, when Finn and Poe aren’t badgering her about whether she feels ok or not. She appreciates having people concerned about her, but she really needs at least a few minutes alone. 

So she manages to sneak outside once she is left alone for a couple of seconds, walking towards the side of the house, where she nearly runs into a door swinging open.

Based on yesterday’s excitement, her instincts tell her to quickly drop down and hide behind the nearby wall, as she is completely oblivious as to who will step out from behind the open door. 

The man walking out from the secret room is quickly revealed to be a very disheveled looking Hux, who turns and wraps a very heavy looking chain securely around the handles of the wooden doors before locking it with a large padlock.

He doesn’t glance in her direction at all before storming off to the front of the house, and then down the path leading into town. 

Slowly stepping out from her hiding spot, Rey feels a sudden jolt of nerves go through her as she stares at the locked doors that no doubt lead into the laboratory. 

Exactly what she had been hoping to find. 

She pulls out the key hidden in the pocket of her green satin dress as she moves toward the heavily chained basement doors.

When Finn had come into her room last night to check on her, she briefly allowed him to embrace her, feigning the need for comfort whilst she snuck her hand into the inner pocket of his coat, grabbing ahold of a key sitting there.

She felt a little guilty for having to betray the trust of someone she considers a friend, but there is no way anyone will let her down there if she asks. And she needs to go.

After turning her head both directions to make sure one of the men hasn't come running off to look for her yet, she quickly sticks the key into the padlock, biting her lip anxiously as she turns it, wondering if she will feel a click or not. It is entirely possible after all, that Hux had changed the locks. 

Her heart actually jumps when she feels the padlock unlock in her hands, and she quickly reaches up to pull it away, letting it drop to the ground as she next tries to untangle the mess of chains before her. 

She’s not sure when Hux will come back. Luckily, trips to town usually take a couple hours, especially when one is traveling on foot, so she prays she won’t be caught before then. She’s not even really sure what she is wanting to investigate down here, but she knows she will not be able to rest until she finds it. 

After tossing the chain to the ground, she throws open the doors and looks down into the dimly lit laboratory, still littered with a mess of tables and strange equipment that is actually quite frightening looking with all the strange shadows they cast on the walls.

She steps down the small flight of stairs, letting the doors fall closed behind her as her eyes cautiously scan the room, her heart beating wildly against her chest, so loud she can hear it pounding in her ears amidst the deathly quietness of the lab. 

When she spots the table where Kylo had been strapped down before, she’s surprised, and a bit scared to find it empty. 

She nearly turns right back and runs out the door, until a sudden clanking noise rings out from the other side of the room. 

Looking past the maze of tables and vats and odd apparatuses, Rey sees the tall looming figure of Kylo Ren sitting against the wall in a small corner, away from all the commotion of the rest of the room.

She is unable to move at first as she stares at him while he sits, looking almost comically bored as he pulls aimlessly at something near his feet that makes the clanking noise. 

Her breath suddenly sounds so loud in the quiet room, and she feels as if she is suddenly trapped in a nightmare, where she knows something terrible is going to happen if she doesn’t get out now, but she can’t find it in herself to move. 

Sure enough, the man across the room raises his head for a moment, his expression looking focused, as if he were waiting, listening for something, before he snaps his head towards Rey, making her jump as his cold eyes gaze directly into hers. 

She feels her heart beat slow in terror as Kylo Ren slowly rises from where he is seated against the wall. 

As he stands, she can see shiny, strong looking bands wrapped around his wrists and his torso. She can’t tell exactly what they are until he takes a few steps forward and is suddenly yanked to a halt. 

He turns slightly, and her eyes follow his toward the long chains that tether him to the wall. 

Rey can tell these restraints are far stronger than the previous ones she had seen him break out of. 

He turns back to face her, something deeper than anger coating his eyes as he desperately pulls against the chains, his arms struggling to reach out, as if towards her.

Rey finds herself stricken by the despair on his face as he struggles to move towards her. She hasn’t seen much else besides anger and confusion and perhaps a look of wonder every now and then from him. Now, it seems as if not being able to go to her, not being able to touch her, sends a deep hopelessness through him.

Without really thinking, Rey quickly steps forward, seeing him beginning to become agitated at his predicament. She certainly doesn’t want another event like yesterday with him breaking free of more restraints.

Still, her being closer to him seems to throw him into even more of an anguished frenzy, and she nearly runs off from the fear of being so near him again. 

He really does dominate over her, certainly taller than six feet, and his obvious brute strength and delicate temper make him all the more intimidating to be close to. 

“It’s alright,” she speaks, her voice trembling as she does, slightly embarrassed at how timid she sounds. “Try to calm down, they’ll hear you.”

The clanking stops as Kylo Ren freezes his movements, the look on his face suggesting he has become suddenly captivated by her voice, waiting with baited breath for her to continue. 

Lord, what is she doing?

“Sit down,” she suggests, slowly lowering herself to the ground before him, careful not to take her eyes off of him. “I’ll sit with you.” 

He looks so lost, but after a moment, he eventually copies her movements, clunking himself a bit awkwardly down onto the ground.

Rey grins a bit as she tries to suppress an unexpected chuckle. 

Now what?

“I… I know you weren’t trying to hurt me,” she begins, feeling a bit put on the spot as his intense eyes stare so fiercely into her through his mess of dark hair. “Last night… I can’t explain it but… I know you weren’t going to harm me.” 

Her words seem to have no effect on him, but he does seem to be growing more calm, looking less like he’s about to tear his way out of his bonds and strangle someone. 

“I’m Rey,” she continues, gesturing her hands towards herself as she gets the feeling he might not understand her too well.

It’s now that she is joltingly reminded that this is a reanimated corpse she is speaking to. The reanimated corpse of a _serial killer _, at that.__

__But why is there such innocence in his eyes?_ _

__“Do you understand?” she asks doubtfully as she sees him look her up and down blankly. “I’m Rey… you’re Kylo.”_ _

__She tries pointing towards him now, and is surprised to see him flinch back slightly,his eyes now fixed cautiously on her outstretched hand._ _

__She pulls it back a bit, afraid of setting him off again, but if anything, he looks a bit… frightened._ _

__She backs away before starting to rise to her feet again, thinking this whole thing to be a horrid idea after all._ _

__But she can’t even get off the ground before Kylo lurches forward, or at least tries to, his hand trying to reach out as if to grab her arm._ _

“ _No! _”__

______The sound of the deep voice booming from his throat is enough to send her scrambling backwards, startling her more than anything in this past sixty seconds had._ _ _ _ _ _

____Her mouth hangs open, and he just stares at her furiously, breathing heavily while staying very still, as if he were terrified she would try to leave again._ _ _ _

____It takes a while before she is able to slide herself forward again, sitting where she had been before, and in turn, Kylo slowly moves himself back as well, the chains dragging against the ground as he does, sending a rather chilling noise through the empty air._ _ _ _

____“You can speak…”_ _ _ _

____She’s so out of breath that her words don’t even sound like a question._ _ _ _

____“Do you know where you are… do you know what happened, do you know how you…”_ _ _ _

____Her questions come faster than she can properly think through him, and Kylo can do nothing but stare back at her, no doubt completely lost at her stuttering._ _ _ _

____Rey shakes her head and mentally slaps herself at her foolishness._ _ _ _

____Taking a calming breath, she tries to focus herself._ _ _ _

____“I suppose I’m not helping much,” she mutters, mostly to herself. “I doubt you know much else besides the words you hear thrown at you the most.”_ _ _ _

____She can’t believe she’s actually sitting down with a murderer and trying to get him to converse with her, but now that she’s come this far, she knows there’s no way she can simply walk out and forget the whole matter._ _ _ _

____If he can’t understand why he’s here, perhaps she can at least explain to him why she’s here._ _ _ _

____“I’m not from around here. This town, I mean. I grew up in an orphanage in Jakku…”_ _ _ _

____She makes sure to speak slowly and steadily, so that he might try and understand her._ _ _ _

____“I’ve been engaged to Hux since I was a little girl. That’s why, now that I have turned eighteen, I was brought here. To be his wife, and… live happily ever after.”_ _ _ _

____Rey can’t believe how ridiculous this story sounds to her now when she has lived her entire life putting faith into it._ _ _ _

____“My whole life, I dreamed of being here,” she goes on, feeling a spark of the childlike wish in her heart. “I thought I would be like a Princess out of a fairytale, my whole life changed in an instant when I came to live with my Prince, whom I would share a passionate romance with…. In truth, I’ve found my fiancé quite dreadful.”_ _ _ _

____God, does it feel good to finally speak it aloud._ _ _ _

____So she keeps going. She tells Kylo how awful most of her time here has been, apart from brief instances of joy spent with Poe and even Finn sometimes._ _ _ _

____Kylo of course doesn’t respond, but when Rey looks back into his eyes, she finds him listening intently, hanging onto every word she says. As if he can easily understand her troubles. Share in her pain._ _ _ _

____He looks like he cares what she says._ _ _ _

____She becomes so lost that she realizes she’s been down here over an hour, and needs to be leaving soon before Hux can come back and catch her down here._ _ _ _

____Kylo of course tries to stop her again, but before he can become aggravated, she instinctively reaches out to grab his hand in hers._ _ _ _

____She expected the hand of a previously dead body to feel cold and lifeless, but Rey is instead overwhelmed by the warmth coming from his skin._ _ _ _

____He seems just as shocked by the sensation of her hand, as he quickly ceases his struggling, and simply stares in wonder at their now interlocked hands._ _ _ _

____“Don’t worry,” she tells him, her eyes wide and hopeful as she tries offering him a warm, reassuring smile. “I’ll come back.”_ _ _ _

____He must understand somehow, because he does eventually let her leave, even though he still strains a bit against his chains, trying to follow after her._ _ _ _

____But Rey makes good on her promise._ _ _ _

____Hux doesn’t leave the lab all day, which at first worries her as she thinks she won’t get a moment to go down there, but in a surprising turn of events, he actually goes up to bed at a proper time._ _ _ _

____She knows, because she makes sure to stand at the foot of the stairs for a good half hour before sneaking out the back and then to the side of the house and unlocking the crazy contraption locking the back doors to the laboratory._ _ _ _

____She hardly even steps all the way inside before she hears the loud clanking of chains form the other side of the room._ _ _ _

____Rey rushes over to Kylo before he can make too much noise._ _ _ _

____“Alright, alright, I’m here,” she whispers, grabbing onto his chained wrists._ _ _ _

____He doesn’t flinch away from her. Instead, he looks into her eyes with relief, slowly sitting down on the ground like they did before, pulling her down with him._ _ _ _

____He seems to want to do what they did last time, so Rey continues on as she did before, just talking about whatever comes to her mind, while Kylo sits and listens._ _ _ _

____They continue on like this for the next couple of days. Rey finds a time when Hux either has gone into town, or has gone up to bed, or into his office, and she sits with Kylo and talks to him._ _ _ _

____After only two days, it becomes something she looks forward to every moment, which honestly frightens her a bit. She’s not sure how her life has gotten to the point where she craves talking with a reanimated former murderer in a secret lab in her fiancé’s house._ _ _ _

____But every moment she spends down there with him, the more she is convinced there is more to this horrible story that Finn has told her._ _ _ _

____Although, the more she goes down to visit him, the worse he starts to look, and the more angered he seems to become._ _ _ _

____It’s on the fifth visit, when it takes a full ten minutes to calm him down after he struggles violently against his chains, that Rey actually places her hand near his torso and is horrified to feel his ribs beginning to poke against his skin._ _ _ _

____She hadn’t noticed, because of his inhuman strength and how large he looks just by his height alone, that he’s starving beneath it all._ _ _ _

____Thinking quickly, she runs back towards the back doors, much to Kylo’s vocal objection, but she doesn’t have time to try and calm him again._ _ _ _

____Instead, she goes out to the small well that’s in the garden and retrieves a bucket of water as fast as she can, trying not to spill it all on her way back._ _ _ _

____As soon as she’s back in the lab and offers Kylo the water, putting the bucket towards his lips, he drinks it up as if he hasn’t had a drop in years._ _ _ _

____She ends up going back to the well eight more times, filling the bucket to the top every time before Kylo finally seems to be satisfied._ _ _ _

____“I’m so sorry,” she whispers to him as he guzzles down the hundreds of pounds of water, feeling as if this is somehow all her fault._ _ _ _

____The next time she comes down to visit him, she sneaks into the kitchen beforehand and puts together a basket of fruit, bread, and vegetables._ _ _ _

____She’s not sure if a revived dead body would even have a craving for any food, but she can’t get out of her head the haunting feeling of how starved he seemed when she had held him._ _ _ _

____Indeed, once she sits before him and plucks an apple out of the basket and offers it to him, after initially taking it with hesitation and looking at it as if it could be some sort of a deadly trick, he devours the thing in three bites._ _ _ _

____Once he’s sure nothing she’s giving him is poisonous, or whatever it was he was afraid of, he practically grabs the entire basket, digging through and ravaging every inch of sustenance before him._ _ _ _

____“Has anyone been feeding you?” she asks him after he’s finished, even though she’s sure he won’t give her an answer, and she’s certain she already knows the answer anyway._ _ _ _

____To be fair, she hadn’t even considered he would need food or water. And he obviously had no way to communicate, so…_ _ _ _

____“Rey.”_ _ _ _

____It takes a moment or two for Rey to take her eyes off the spot on the ground she had been staring at, sure that the voice that had just spoken across from her was one she had made up in her mind._ _ _ _

____She looks into Kylo’s eyes, which of course are gazing intently into hers, before she slowly trails her stare down towards his lips, her breath stilled as she waits for him to speak again._ _ _ _

____“Kylo?” she asks gently, keeping her voice quiet, as if afraid to startle him._ _ _ _

____His eyebrows suddenly knit, almost in confusion as he seems to try and figure something out silently._ _ _ _

____Rey feels her heart jump in her chest when his arm slowly moves up, his hand pointing towards her, but she dares not move._ _ _ _

____“Rey,” he repeats, his arm still reaching toward her._ _ _ _

____She nods quickly, scooting forward closer to him without thinking._ _ _ _

____“Yes,” she answers as his fingers wrap around her arm now that she is within his reach. “Yes, I’m Rey-”_ _ _ _

____She gasps as he suddenly yanks her forward towards him, his other chained hand now grabbing her other arm and holding her in an iron grip._ _ _ _

____Her first instinct is to scream or try to fight away from his grasp, but she knows that will only send him into another rage. So she decides to simply continue on as if nothing had happened, allowing him to continue holding onto her._ _ _ _

____“I’m Rey,” she gestures to herself, “and you’re Kylo, right?”_ _ _ _

____He looks down at her hand that is now pointing towards him._ _ _ _

____“Kylo,” he slowly speaks._ _ _ _

____“Yes,” she smiles broadly, unable to explain the thrill of excitement that goes through her at this breakthrough. “Oh my God, you understand…”_ _ _ _

____To her amazed surprise, a smile glows across his face. His eyes light up as they look into hers, seeming all the more encouraged by her happiness._ _ _ _

____“Rey,” he breathes, his voice ringed with relief. “Rey… Rey…”_ _ _ _

____They go on like that for much too long, simply trading their names back and forth, honestly because Rey finds herself not wanting to leave this time._ _ _ _

____After a while, his hands eventually release their intense grip on her arms and go down to gently hold her hands in his._ _ _ _

____It’s only when a sound coming from upstairs makes Rey nearly jump out of her skin, that she realizes she’s been down here far too long, and she quickly has to tear herself away from Kylo, gather up the basket, and run for the back doors, her heart aching as Kylo jumps up to try and go with her, but once again is held back, much to his aggravation._ _ _ _

____“Kylo, please calm down!” she calls back to him. “I’ll be back, you know I will.”_ _ _ _

____She’s not sure if that calms him down or not, because she has to get herself out the back doors and quickly lock them back up again before whoever is coming down the stairs can enter the basement._ _ _ _

____ _ _

____When she returns the next night with another basket of food and a bucket of water, she tries something else with him._ _ _ _

____She starts by greeting him, simply saying ‘Hello Kylo’, which he doesn’t reply to verbally, but his eyes look up at her brightly as she sits herself down before him, fluffing out the skirt of her dress and setting down the items in front of her._ _ _ _

____He immediately goes for the bucket of water, finishing it all off in under a minute as Rey prepares for the next endeavor she has planned out._ _ _ _

____“This is bread,” she states, holding up one of the rolls from the basket. “Do you remember? Bread….”_ _ _ _

____“Bread,” he nods, not even having to take more than a couple of seconds._ _ _ _

____“Yes,” she grins happily, handing it over to him and watching him quickly dig into it._ _ _ _

____She does the same thing with every item in the basket, and he seems to understand everything perfectly, reciting the names back to her as if she were having a conversation with a completely normal man whose spoken perfect English every day of his life._ _ _ _

____Rey wonders if perhaps food and water was all that was needed to get him to finally start remembering how to be a human being._ _ _ _

____He’s even less violent now, not thrashing and clawing to get out of his chains, though he still seems to always attempt to reach out towards her, as if he needs to touch her._ _ _ _

____She wonders if perhaps he is lonely, or scared. Maybe he just wants to hold someone. Rey certainly knows that isolating feeling._ _ _ _

____After he’s done eating, she tries speaking with him again, using simple one word phrases, but he is suddenly far less responsive._ _ _ _

____In fact, as she looks closer into his eyes, she is alarmed to see how pained they look._ _ _ _

____“Kylo,” she speaks softly, reaching out to place her hand on top of his._ _ _ _

____He begins to reel back, as he always does when she is the one to reach towards him, but he relaxes when she does nothing more than put her hand on his._ _ _ _

____Something isn’t right._ _ _ _

____She moves a bit closer to him, being sure to move slow so she doesn’t startle him, and gently places her other hand against his arm._ _ _ _

____“Rey…”_ _ _ _

____He doesn’t look at her when he speaks now, just stares at the ground, while she runs her hand over his shoulder, where the bullet wound is from all those nights ago._ _ _ _

____She moves very slowly when pulling his tattered shirt away from the wound, tensing as she feels him recoil every now and then. But she is patient._ _ _ _

____Eventually, she is able to pull the fabric away from the wound, and is horrified to see the state of it._ _ _ _

____Rey assumed Hux would have stitched up the bullet wound by now so as not to risk it getting infected, but from the looks of it, it is even worse than it had initially started out as._ _ _ _

____What was once merely a wound from a bullet has turned into something much more painful looking, some grotesque, twisted piece of flesh that has grown larger, nearly covering his entire shoulder._ _ _ _

____“Was this not treated?” she asks, panicked as she quickly goes to pull away at the other side of his shirt to see the other wound on the side of his chest, which looks much the same as this one._ _ _ _

____“Oh, Kylo,” she sighs in horror as he shifts uncomfortably against the floor and his chains, pain flickering in his eyes as Rey tries examining the wounds closer._ _ _ _

____To be honest, it looks as if they’ve been purposefully irritated. Like someone had poured salt in them and just… left them._ _ _ _

____Rey is thankful she decided to visit late at night. This way, she is sure no one will disturb them as she gathers a few things from upstairs then goes back down to attempt to treat the wounds._ _ _ _

____She’s no expert in this, and she cringes each time Kylo draws back in pain while she tries cleaning the wounds out, but she has had to help stitch a few kids up back at the orphanage in the common occurrences of an accident, so she isn’t completely in the dark. She can at least be sure she knows how to properly clean and close a wound up._ _ _ _

____Unfortunately, it seems to cause Kylo even more pain, and he often grabs her wrists to try and wrench her hands away, but she lets him calm down before continuing on._ _ _ _

____“It’s alright,” she speaks calmly to him as he pants heavily, his hands nearly crushing her wrists as his teeth grit in agony. “You know I’m not trying to hurt you…”_ _ _ _

____She supposes, he at least somehow understands that she is helping him, despite how untrained her medical skills are._ _ _ _

____It takes almost until dawn, but she is eventually able to get through both wounds, cleaning and bandaging them up enough to where they should bother him far less._ _ _ _

____But he still looks to be in so much discomfort. He won’t even look at her anymore._ _ _ _

____“Kylo,” she starts, reaching toward him, but he moves back against the wall, the chains scraping along the stone floor as he drags himself away from her._ _ _ _

____He looks so… weak. Broken. Nothing like the first time she had seen him when he had seemed so rageful._ _ _ _

____“Let me help you,” she pleads, her voice barely above a whisper as she moves closer to him still, reaching for him._ _ _ _

____He finally looks to her, his terrified eyes gazing at her behind the strings of black hair that fall in front of his face._ _ _ _

____He is shaking as she places her hand against his back to try and encourage him to move forward towards her, but she pulls her hand back to stare at it once she feels something seeping through the back of his shirt._ _ _ _

____Her hand is now covered with a soft shade of red._ _ _ _

____Rey runs over toward a nearby table, snatching up one of the many sharp looking instruments before rushing back over to where Kylo sits, staring blankly off after her._ _ _ _

____Crouching down beside him, she starts using the small scalpel to slice through the fabric of his shirt, working quickly, but careful not to let the cold blade touch his skin._ _ _ _

____She tears the remaining cloth away, leaving Kylo’s back and chest completely exposed, and leaving Rey to cover her mouth in horror as she breathes heavily, her chest rising and lowering in despair as she sees the state he is in._ _ _ _

____Long, bloody gashes paint the entirety of his back, the blood looking shockingly bright against his pale skin. The cuts look frantic, as if someone had maniacally slashed at him._ _ _ _

____Once again, they also look to have been left completely unattended to._ _ _ _

____Tears fall down her face as she looks over the front of him, seeing horribly large bruises patterned along his ribs and chest as he takes uneven breaths, clearly pained simply by breathing._ _ _ _

“Has he done this to you?” she whispers in dreaded disbelief, wondering how Hux, a _doctor _, could be so cruel as to leave someone looking like this.__

________Kylo just closes his eyes as he continues his shallowed breathing, moving back up against the wall._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hurt,” he speaks, his arms crossing over his torso._ _ _ _ _ _

______Knowing they at least have a couple more hours before everyone in the house will start waking up, Rey sneaks back up into the house and grabs a few blankets from her bed before tiptoeing back down into the laboratory._ _ _ _ _ _

______She has Kylo lie down, which is quite a struggle with all the chains in the way, but he manages to eventually lie in a way that Rey guesses is at least close to comfortable._ _ _ _ _ _

______Getting more water from the wall, she begins cleaning all the wounds on his back, which of course makes him writhe and struggle against her, sometimes even flaring up in anger. Rey eventually finds that gently running her hand along his hair gets him to relax again so that she can continue. It seems like a gentle touch from someone is something he could desperately need._ _ _ _ _ _

______Seeing him up close like this, Rey is able to make out the many stitched up scars that also paint over his body. Ones over his chest, his stomach, places where she supposes Hux had to tamper with the vital organs. There are even some on his face, ones that are thinner and not quite as severe._ _ _ _ _ _

______There is also one stitched up across his neck that she’s not sure could be from._ _ _ _ _ _

______After she is done, she has to go back upstairs and find him another shirt._ _ _ _ _ _

______There are a bunch of old clothes hidden in some trunk at the back of the closet in her guest room, so she digs through that and eventually finds a rather large, but suitably warm shirt for him to wear._ _ _ _ _ _

______She is certain that, by this point, Hux will be able to guess that she’s been down here. There really is no way to cover up magically stitched up wounds that he definitely had no part in. So all throughout the next day, Rey waits nervously for him to come storming back up from the laboratory, demanding to know who has been down there._ _ _ _ _ _

______But he never does. In fact, no one really sees Hux at all, as usual. The only time he is spotted is when he goes out to town, or walks back up to his room. And while he’s doing that, he hardly looks at anyone, let alone speaks to them._ _ _ _ _ _

______However, Rey finds there to be a few more wounds every time she goes down to visit Kylo, though thankfully, the ones she healed up don’t seem to have been tampered with._ _ _ _ _ _

______So, she continues tending to every gash and cut she sees on him, feeling sick to her stomach that she is forced to remain upstairs every day while this is being done to him._ _ _ _ _ _

______Sometimes, throughout those long hours of the day, she’ll try to stick near the hidden stairwell, or the doors outside, listening desperately to try and hear what is going on in here while she is unable to be with Kylo._ _ _ _ _ _

______But she knows the doors were made so thick as to not let a single sound escape from whatever sick experiments Hux performs away from prying ears._ _ _ _ _ _


	10. Chapter 10

“Hello Kylo,” Rey smiles softly as she closes the doors behind her, pocketing her stolen key, and turning towards where Kylo is waiting for her in his usual spot, where he looks up at her and grins back, his chains shifting as he moves to sit up. 

“Rey,” he greets back as she walks forward, basket in hand. 

She rushes over to him, placing the basket down, and slowly reaching into the pocket of her dress to pull out another key she had managed to steal earlier today as he sits back down and she sits in front of him. 

It had taken weeks of careful planning and spying on Hux, but she finally got it.

“Please don’t make me regret this,” she whispers, more to herself than to him as she brings out the shiny steel key she had been able to snatch out of Hux’s coat that was lying in his office while he was down here today. 

Kylo stares at her curiously as she reaches out and takes his wrist in her hand, bringing it up toward her. 

She slides the key into the small lock on the large manacle, turning until it clicks and suddenly falls away, clanging against the floor. 

His eyes widen slightly as he stares down at his now freed wrist, and Rey holds her breath, praying he remains calm. 

All he does is look back at her, almost unsurely, like he isn’t sure what is happening. 

She moves on to his other wrist, unlocking that one before going to the ones on his ankles and unlocking those. 

He stays remarkably still the whole time, even when she basically has to wrap her arms around him to unlock the restraint around his waist. 

She stands up once he is completely free, ready to reach down and help him up, but she holds back for a moment, watching as he glances around himself before slowly standing up on his own.

Rey is once again taken aback by how tall and imposing he is, but he makes no aggressive movement toward her.

“Follow me,” she directs, turning and walking back toward the back doors she had come through after scooping the basket of food up from off the ground. “I think it’s about time for a change of scenery.”

She leads him outside, making sure to glance back every few seconds just to make sure he hasn’t run off once they are out in the open.

He stays right behind her though, never taking his eyes from her, though he does look ever so relieved to be out in the wide open space where he can finally breathe a bit easier. 

Rey keeps walking until they’ve reached the back of the house, moving past the garden, out further towards the woods that will keep them hidden from sight.

Turning to face him after they have gone past the tree line, she offers him a warm smile, encouraging him to come closer, since he seems to be glancing around the unusual spot with uncertainty and mistrust. 

“Look,” she reaches her hand out to him, setting the basket on the ground beside her.

He stands still for a few moments, his eyes gazing blankly at her hand, before he finally takes a step closer, reaching out and closing his much larger hand around hers. 

She gently pulls him forward, walking a couple feet to a small patch of wildflowers that have started sprouting around one of the trees. 

To her shock, his eyes seem to almost light up at the little burst of color sitting among the rather dull, drained looking forest. 

She sits herself on the soft floor of the forest, and Kylo follows after her, still looking down at the collection of flowers scattering the trunk of the tree.

Her hand reaches down to pluck one of the small, white daisies from the grass. 

“Do you know what this is?” she asks, offering it to him.

He doesn’t move to take it, but his eyes stay on it as if he were hypnotized by something about the dainty little flower. 

His hand only reaches out after moments of silence, and Rey places the daisy in his hand.

His fingers close around the stem as his other hand moves to gently touch against the small petals.

“It’s a flower,” Rey speaks, though she has become mesmerized by the look that fills his eyes as he gazes down at the blossom. It is a look of remembrance. Something is familiar to him. There is something he is trying to recall.

“Do you remember something, Kylo?” she asks gently, but eagerly. He doesn’t answer, but instead turns back to the patch of flowers, reaching down to carefully pluck another one up in the same manner she had.

Rey wants to believe he is finally starting to remember how to be human, something from his past life that maybe was important to him. But knowing what she was told about him, she can’t help but wonder if perhaps his memories are of something sinister.

Had he once killed someone in a field of wildflowers like these?

Pushing the horrid thought from her mind, she continues to watch him pick up almost each and every one of the flowers beneath the tree.

She tells him the names of all the flowers he picks, unsure if maybe that will spark some kind of memory in him. It doesn’t seem to. 

Kylo seems to forget all about the food he is usually craving as he stands and begins moving about the forest curiously, Rey following close behind him. 

He becomes transfixed by everything he comes across, whether it be the thick brown trunks of the trees, the frayed green leaves dripping down from the low hanging branches, even the clusters of dirt and sticks that clutter the ground.

They eventually come upon a small pond and sit there for a bit.

Thinking of nothing else to do, Rey takes one of the small flowers from the bunch Kylo is still clutching in his hands, and tosses it into the water.

They both watch it float along, rippling along with the tiny waves the breeze makes in the little circle of water.

Looking back at him, Rey can see Kylo carefully studying the now floating flower, and soon grabs another one and tosses it into the water next to it.

They go on like this, placing all the flowers into the water until there is a parade of floating petals painting over the once lonely looking pond. 

There is a small, wondrous smile on Kylo’s face when Rey looks back at him. But most of all, there is finally a look of peace in his eyes. 

For once, he looks truly happy. And this brings an unexplainable joy to her heart. 

Perhaps he had been a monster in his human life. But there can’t possibly be any trace of that left in him now. Maybe that part of him had died when he had been executed. Now, there is nothing left but this version of him, this man that is sitting before her now who bears no resemblance to a killer in any way. 

She doesn’t realize how long she’s been staring at him, or how close their faces are now until he turns his head to look over at her. 

The entire forest stills as they look into each other’s eyes, the smile slowly fading from Kylo’s expression as his now bright and hopeful eyes look into hers.

Rey recalls seeing nothing but darkness and fury in those eyes merely hours ago. Now, she simply sees the eyes, the lips, the face of a man.

A man she could have easily met back in Jakku walking the long, coarse streets to the market. A man who looks kind, warm, maybe even a bit shy. 

Her face inches closer to his as everything else in the world drops that, and Kylo Ren becomes just that… a man. And she, a woman. 

Their lips touch, gently and hesitantly in the first second, but Rey soon finds herself engulfed in a warmth and passion that heats her entire body as she presses more fervently against Kylo’s chest, his arms reaching around to hug around her back, his alarming strength crushing her a little too firmly, but she finds herself not minding in the slightest. Because never in her life has she felt more loved.

Rey sits patiently on the small bench in the garden, staring wordlessly out at the sea of tall grass and flowers. The sun of course refuses to break through the fog of clouds, casting a dull gray over their little section of the world. It also doesn’t encourage Rey’s mood.

She hears Poe walk up behind her, his boots lightly crackling over the soft grass before he sits beside her on the stone bench. 

“I was told you wished to speak with me,” he begins in a sort of mocking tone, but still filled with the playful edge he always has. “I’m assuming it’s something we don’t wish others to overhear?” 

“No,” she confirms, her eyes still gazing out over the garden. 

The silence is rather uncomfortable, but Rey truly doesn’t know how to begin. She is terrified of what his reaction will be, and even more terrified of how she will think of herself once she says this out loud to someone. 

“Well, you can’t have called me out here to mull about the weather,” Poe sighs after the silence has gotten to him. “C’mon, what’s wrong?”

“I’ve been to see Kylo.” 

Rey wishes to have the previous awkward silence back, because the quiet that rings between them now is anything but comforting. 

“I’m… I don’t think I understand,” Poe clears his throat, sounding as if he’s sure he misheard her. 

“At night, after everyone’s gone to bed… I go down into the laboratory to see him. I stole Finn’s key to get in, and I… I just go down and talk with him-”

“Rey, have you lost your damn sense?!” Poe suddenly exclaims, making her jump against the bench and quickly snap her head over to face him. “I am praying to everything holy that you are joking…”

“I’m not,” she assures him, keeping a clear head. “And I was perfectly safe, Hux has him chained up pretty good in there.”

“Why in the hell would you even put yourself near that thing?! Do you realize that it is a mindless, murdering… _corpse? _”__

__“I don’t think he is. Which is why I wanted to talk to you.”_ _

__Ignoring the desperation and anger on his face, Rey moves closer to him, lowering her voice as if afraid someone might overhear._ _

__“Poe, he is kind and gentle. I think he was so angry and confused because he was hungry. I started giving him some food and water, and he hardly caused a stir after a while. Sometimes… sometimes he even speaks to me.”_ _

__Now Poe begins looking at her as if she has truly lost her mind._ _

__“All he needed was some comfort, Poe. He’s scared and disoriented, and all people keep doing is… whatever awful experiments Hux is performing on him all through the day.”_ _

__Poe finally seems to look a bit claimed, as if the information had now truly begun to sink in._ _

__“What do you mean, what kind of experiments?”_ _

__“I don’t know,” Rey shakes her head, equally as helpless. “I always find all kinds of… injuries on him when I go down there. I looked around the laboratory to try and figure out what he is doing to him, but I can’t make sense out of anything down there.”_ _

__She waits a moment to get Poe’s reaction, seeing him begin to relax a little as his eyes narrow in concern._ _

__“If you’re wondering if I’m surprised at the way Hux is treating it, I’m not,” he speaks. “He’s always been rather… disconnected from human compassion, if you will.”_ _

__“Poe, I don’t think it’s the truth about Kylo… that he is a murderer, I mean. I’ve spent so much time with him, I’ve looked into his eyes, I’ve seen how he treats things, how he interacts with things around him. There’s no way he was once as heartless and cruel as a serial killer.”_ _

__Poe now seems sidetracked by something else she had just said._ _

“What do you mean you’ve seen him interact with things?” he demands, his outrage coming forth once again. “Did you take him _outside the lab? _”__

______“It was just last night, after I’d made sure he was calmed down,” Rey tries to explain to him, but she can see he is far past listening. “Poe, he didn’t do a thing!”_ _ _ _ _ _

____“But did you even consider what he could have done?! He could have escaped, he could have killed you and then run off into town to terrorize-”_ _ _ _

____“Poe, you’re not listening to me!” Rey speaks loudly over him, demanding his attention. “That is not who he is. He only thought people were trying to hurt him, I showed him I wasn’t. He had no reason to be violent anymore.”_ _ _ _

____She pauses for a moment, feeling a spit of anger in her own heart._ _ _ _

____“And for what it’s worth, he has shown me more affection within one hour than my own fiancé has given me the entire time I’ve been here.”_ _ _ _

____This sends another wave of silence through the air, though this time it is at least filled with consideration on Poe’s part._ _ _ _

____Rey takes a moment to calm herself again as Poe places his palms against the bench, staring down at the ground as he breathes a long sigh._ _ _ _

____“I don’t know what to say,” he admits._ _ _ _

____“Then say you believe me,” she challenges him. “And… promise me you’ll help back me up when we tell Finn.”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Finn has much of the same reaction Poe did once he learns of Rey’s midnight excursions down to the basement._ _ _ _

____In fact, in the first couple of minutes she’s trying to explain it to him, she’s sure he is going to drag her up to her room and lock her in to make sure she never goes down there again. But to her and Poe’s surprise, he begins to cease his appalled concerns, his eyes narrowing as he listens more closely to what Rey is saying._ _ _ _

____“You’ve seen it too,” she realizes as she watches his expression carefully, seeing his eyes go to the ground as he leans against one of the pillars on the back porch. “You know there is something more to him than Hux told you.”_ _ _ _

____Finn is quiet for a long time, and to Rey and Poe, he looks to be having an inner silent debate with himself._ _ _ _

____In fact, Finn is trying to make sense of all of it. If Rey is telling the truth, which she should be, since there is no reason to lie about such an absurd thing, then this all doesn’t make any sense. A murderer as cruel as Kylo Ren would surely have something infecting his brain enough to affect him even after death as a reanimated creature. His gentleness with Rey is mind boggling. With his instincts from his human life, he should be nothing but violent towards her, and anyone else._ _ _ _

____He then recalls the murder of Skywalker. How they had found the creature standing above him, blood splattering his hands, a look of blind rage in his eyes…_ _ _ _

____Of course it is true. Hux may have questionable methods about this very unorthodox experiment, but why would he lie about the creature’s human life? He has no reason to make up any stories. And anyway, the creature’s behavior that Finn has witnessed thus far has done nothing but confirm the fact that Kylo Ren must have had violent tendencies in his past life._ _ _ _

____But Rey seems so confident in what she believes now. Even Poe seems as if he’s flirting with the idea of this possibly being true. That Kylo isn’t the vicious murderous monster they’ve all thought of him up until now._ _ _ _

____He can tell just by looking at her that Rey won’t give up. Whatever she’s seen in Kylo, it has convinced her completely._ _ _ _

____“I’ll speak with Hux,” he promises, reaching out to clasp his hands over Rey’s, if only to offer some kind of comfort, some way to assure her that everything is going to be alright. “We’ll figure this out, Rey.”_ _ _ _

____She doesn’t seem comforted by his reassurances._ _ _ _

____“Finn, whatever is going on, we have to fix it, fast,” she explains, and Finn is surprised to see a deadly seriousness in her eyes, as if everything in her very being is determined to see that Kylo Ren is safe. “Something is really wrong here, aside from the obvious. I know you can feel it too.”_ _ _ _

____He has felt it. He knows what they’ve been doing is wrong, and that even though he has distanced himself from the experiment, that doesn’t mean things are getting any better. In fact, it’s almost worse now that Finn has no idea what Hux is doing down there._ _ _ _

____As it turns out however, he doesn’t even have to go search for Hux, because his employer instead seeks him out later that very day, pulling him aside just as everyone is grimly preparing for dinner._ _ _ _

____“I was going to find you,” Finn tells him once they’ve stepped down towards the hidden stairway, halfway down the steps so that they are half illuminated by the evening light upstairs, and half shrouded in darkness. “We need to talk…”_ _ _ _

____“No need,” Hux brushes him off, crossing his arms over his chest. “I assume whatever your complaint is has to do with the specimen.”_ _ _ _

____Finn slowly nods, completely unsure of what Hux is about to tell him. Will he answer the question he has, tell him some secret he has been keeping about the monster downstairs?_ _ _ _

____“As you know, I’ve been hard at work over the past few weeks,” Hux begins, his tone and aura noticeably different from how it’s been the past couple of years. He is relaxed, eased by something, speaking and even standing in a way that makes Finn think he has finally come to peace with something. “I believe I’ve done all I care to with it. It’s presence is pretty much useless to me now.”_ _ _ _

____Of all the things Finn might have made up in his mind, he never could have imagined Hux would be telling him something like this, leading to a revelation he guesses immediately._ _ _ _

____“I’ve completed most promising research, and I am confident I will be able to reanimate more bodies, no matter the age or cause of death. Therefore, it appears you will finally get your wish.”_ _ _ _

____Finn almost finds it amusing how the circumstances have changed so suddenly and so drastically. He, in the position of wanting to learn more about Kylo Ren, wanting to keep him around if only to see why Rey seems intent on defending him, why he himself feels a sense of duty to seek out the source of Rey’s claims._ _ _ _

____And now Hux, looking almost eager himself to do exactly as Finn had begged him to do for some time now. In fact, he seems almost delighted to inform his former partner of the news._ _ _ _

____“I plan on disposing of the creature within the week.”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____Finn thinks perhaps it is fear that brings him down to the laboratory late that night after everyone’s gone to bed. He asked (or more like begged) Rey to stay up in her room, just for tonight while he goes down to see for himself how Kylo’s behavior has changed, as she claims._ _ _ _

____In return, she begs him to be gentle, whatever he does. That Kylo will no doubt respond violently if he senses aggression coming from Finn._ _ _ _

____He doesn’t tell Rey of Hux’s words. Not yet. He knows it will only cause her to panic, and maybe do something rash. He can’t risk that now, especially when he has no idea what to believe by this point, with everyone’s drastically changing viewpoints._ _ _ _

____Finn is sure to be as silent as humanly possible when unlocking the lock on the basement doors, using the key Rey had graciously returned to him._ _ _ _

____He moves the door open centimeters at a time, careful to not cause any sound or too much movement that would draw the creature’s attention to him right away. Something tells him he wants to look at the creature first, just look at it before attempting to interact with it._ _ _ _

____What he sees does shock him, but not in the way he expected._ _ _ _

____The first thing he notices is Kylo is wearing much more comfortable looking clothes, no doubt one of the many comforts Rey had thought to provide it with._ _ _ _

____He also sees that the creature does indeed look a bit more… human. Alive. As if it were a man sitting there chained to the wall across the room, not a reanimated corpse. Finn supposes it is the food and water that has rejuvenated him in such a way._ _ _ _

____But what startles him so much is the look on the creature’s face._ _ _ _

____It is an expression that could not be more human. An expression that makes Finn believe it is nothing less than a living, breathing human sitting there, shivering slightly as he clutches at the chains circling his ribs._ _ _ _

____He looks frightened beyond belief. Kylo Ren, this terrifying beast, this murderer that Finn has convinced himself is something completely beyond all help, looks terrified. And lonely._ _ _ _

____It’s eyes are glued to the doors at the other side of the room, the back doors that lead out to the side of the house. The ones Rey had said she usually comes through after she’s gotten water for him from the well._ _ _ _

____His eyes are sad but hopeful all at the same time as he stares at the doors, his breathing quick and uneven, his knuckles gripping inhumanly tight around the chains._ _ _ _

____He’s waiting for her._ _ _ _

____The door in front of him creaks as Finn opens it further, and for the briefest moment, Kylo’s hope-filled eyes turn on him, until they register that it is not in fact Rey who is walking in to see him._ _ _ _

____Blind fury replaces the expression on it’s face, all the human fear and loneliness dropping from his being as he instantly transforms into the furious monster Finn remembers him as._ _ _ _

____But he doesn’t react this time to Kylo’s violent outburst. Even as the reanimated man tears and fights savagely against the chains holding him back, Finn doesn’t retaliate in any way._ _ _ _

____One side of his mind rationalizes that this only proves what he had known from day one. This rageful thing only wants to hurt, to kill anything in its path._ _ _ _

But deep down, Finn can guess the reason for Kylo’s rage this time. He is upset one of the men who caused him harm is here instead of Rey. _His _Rey, that has been the only one to show him the deepest of kindness. Or perhaps Kylo thinks Finn has done something to Rey to prevent her from coming here.__

________Either way, Finn’s question is answered, and Rey’s claims are confirmed. All it took, all it would take anyone, is one look into this man’s eyes. Just as Rey had pleaded._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______Casting Kylo one more pitying, sorrowful glance, Finn turns and walks back out of the lab, closing and locking the door behind him._ _ _ _ _ _


	11. Chapter 11

It is far past midnight when Finn gathers Rey and Poe to converse in his rooms, but the two of them are as wide awake as ever when he finds them. 

“You were right,” he begins immediately once they are safely behind closed doors. “You were right about him, Rey.”

She looks beyond relieved, maybe just at the fact that she knows for sure now that she isn’t going crazy. 

“Then what the hell is going on?” Poe demands, still more than a bit confused about the whole matter. 

“I don’t know,” Finn answers honestly, shaking his head. “But something’s not right. I’ve known from the beginning that there was something off about all of this. The mysterious ways Hux got this body in the first place, how… _personally _he seemed to react to it when he got angry, and now… now he’s determined to destroy it, even though the mere idea of that used to send him into a frenzy.”__

__Rey’s eyes now grow wide with horror, and Finn can tell that she’s seconds away from bolting out of the room and downstairs to the basement._ _

__“You don’t have to worry,” Finn quickly settles her, “I just looked in on it… him. Kylo is safe for now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hux devises a way to get rid of him by tomorrow.”_ _

“What the hell is going on with everyone?” Poe whispers harshly, his arms crossing over his chest as he looks between Rey and Finn. “Hux is teetering on insanity, Rey is acting like she’s fallen under some bizarre love spell, and you are suddenly changing your mind about every single thing you’ve feared about. I thought this thing wasn’t even _human _.”__

______Rey and Finn exchange an understanding glance before Finn answers._ _ _ _ _ _

“It’s impossible to explain. But Poe… I’m asking you to trust me. I _need _you to trust me.”__

________Finn knows he can convince Poe to do just about anything, especially if he looks at him the way he is staring at him now, his eyes wide and imploring the man he loves to help him with this, despite how difficult it is to understand._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______He does look ever so reluctant, but he eventually gives a grim nod, his eyes raising up to meet Finn’s._ _ _ _ _ _

______“So what’s our plan? We tell the police?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“No,” Finn quickly shakes his head. “Not yet at least. I think it’s safe to assume we’re far past that option. What you two need to do for now, is keep a sharp eye out. Tomorrow at dawn, I’m leaving for Takodana. I should be back late in the evening.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Why Takodana?” Poe inquires._ _ _ _ _ _

______“That is where Hux claims he dug up Kylo Ren’s body. I’m going there to get to the bottom of this as quickly as I can.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Rey narrows her eyes at the ground in realization._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You think Hux never even dug up the body of a murderer at all,” she pieces together. “You think Kylo is a completely different person?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“We don’t know anything for sure yet,” Finn answers. “But we will if I go there to see for myself. In the meantime… if you wish to keep Kylo safe, I suggest you get him out of the laboratory as soon as possible. Somewhere you know he will stay until we’ve sorted this all out.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I can take care of that,” Rey nods assertively. “Hux is not going to lay another hand on him.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I suppose that means it’s my job to distract him?” Poe questions, already looking to be gearing up for the challenge. “He’s always hated my banter, but I think I might manage to engage him in a couple hours of riveting conversation.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“If it comes to that, yes,” Finn replies. “But thankfully, Hux told me he’s going out into town early for a while to get some supplies in order to assist with the… termination.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He says the last word as delicately as he can so as not to upset Rey. Even the look in her eyes she has now after hearing the cruel word is enough to amaze Finn as he sees how much she truly has grown to care for Kylo._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’ve been working with him on this long enough to know that that means he should be out for a good few hours,” Finn continues. “He’s going to need to venture into who knows how many black markets and underground apothecaries. And without my assistance, it will take him even longer than usual, which buys us almost the entire day.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______Rey wastes no time charging down into the basement once the secret meeting has concluded. She could tell Finn and Poe were both still extremely uncertain about letting Kylo loose, but she knew she was never going to allow him to stay down here when Hux is intent on destroying him._ _ _ _ _ _

______When she slides in through the back doors she usually comes through, she surprised to actually see Kylo look as if he was about to doze off to sleep, until his eyes open and he sees her rushing towards him, causing him to leap up onto his feet, no doubt because it is so late and he probably worried she wasn’t coming down here at all._ _ _ _ _ _

______Unable to stop herself once she sees him waiting for her, she can’t help but throw her arms around him once she has run up to him, grateful to see him alive and still down here waiting for her._ _ _ _ _ _

______She’s glad when he doesn’t pull away in surprise, but she can feel him become uncomfortable when he can’t really move that well against the chains, so she eventually steps back._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Kylo, I… I’m going to unchain you again,” she begins hastily as she moves to unlock the bindings on his wrists. “We’re going back to the forest, like we did the other night.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He seems to understand, and holds still as she unlatches the chains from his ankles and finally from his waist._ _ _ _ _ _

______She takes his hand and leads him out the doors she had come through, noticing his confusion at why she is acting like this._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Everything’s alright,” she tells him in as soothing of a voice as she can, turning and locking the doors back up once they’re outside. “I’m going to get you away from here very soon.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Rey isn’t even sure if she will be able to keep that promise. Where on Earth could she and Kylo go where he would be safe, much less be able to live a normal life? He isn’t even supposed to be alive._ _ _ _ _ _

______She can feel his hand slowly begin to crush hers as he starts to keep up with her pace, obviously becoming riled up by unusual events. She winces when she actually feels her bones creak slightly in his string grip, but she doesn’t stop and turn around until they are safely hidden within the trees._ _ _ _ _ _

______Placing her other hand on top of his, she gently tries to ease his grip off her in the way she has practiced with him over the past few days, letting him know whenever he is holding her too tight._ _ _ _ _ _

______He quickly releases her, but remains standing still before her, his eyes gazing down at her imploringly, wondering what they’re doing._ _ _ _ _ _

______Rey sighs heavily, her hands going to her head as she suddenly feels the overwhelming stress of how in the world she is going to be able to make Kylo understand what he has to do._ _ _ _ _ _

______He moves toward her, his arms circling around her hips, making sure to touch her as lightly as he can._ _ _ _ _ _

______He presses his forehead against hers. He’s not sure what’s wrong, but he can tell something is upsetting her. And he doesn’t know really how to make her feel better, but he knows doing this always makes him feel better when he’s upset._ _ _ _ _ _

______Once she moves her head to look up at him, he leans closer so that their lips touch._ _ _ _ _ _

______She relaxes into the kiss, melting into his arms as he hugs her closer, wishing he could somehow push all her mysterious troubles away, whatever they are._ _ _ _ _ _

______Pulling away from him slightly, she gazes up into his eyes, capturing his attention._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I need you to stay here,” she speaks._ _ _ _ _ _

______Her voice sounds clear and direct, which also makes Kylo try his best to understand her. She reaches her hands up towards his head, softly running her hands through his hair._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Can you do that for me? I need you to stay right here for a little while. I’ll come be with you as often as I can, but you can not leave this spot. Kylo, do you understand me?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He turns his head this way and that, glancing around the forest._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Stay here,” he mutters, looking back at her and nodding his head. “You’ll come?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yes, as soon as I can,” she assures him, relief filling her as she smiles brightly, which in turn makes him happy as well._ _ _ _ _ _

______She kisses him again, and his lips welcome hers, his eyes falling closed as he holds her close against him, unsure of what is going on or what is about to happen, but thankful that he has her, that she is still here making him feel a little less confused and much less lonely._ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______It is nearly noon by the time Finn has arrived at the cemetery in Takodana. He had to take a stagecoach to get from D’Qar to the slightly brighter, very green looking town. It’s actually a bit of a shock to see clear skies and crisp lakes surrounded by lush green forests as opposed to the dreary and rather dead looking scenery that makes up D’Qar._ _ _ _ _ _

______Once he arrives in town, he has to walk the rest of the way to the cemetery, getting directions from the local tavern owner after he’s dropped off._ _ _ _ _ _

______The cheerier atmosphere immediately drops once the somber graveyard fades into view, as if a shroud of death shades over the whole dire part of town._ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn finds himself gripping his coat tightly around himself, feeling a ghostly sensation of hundreds of hands reaching out at him once he steps past the sinisters looking gates that lead into the waves of tombstones._ _ _ _ _ _

______He ignores the feeling as best he can, keeping his focus on the old man hunched over one of the distant graves._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Excuse me!” he calls out, trying to make his voice as polite as possible once he reaches the gravedigger._ _ _ _ _ _

______The man seems less than pleased to be pulled away from his work as he slowly turns to face Finn._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Yer a little early if yer here fer the funeral,” the man mutters, straightening up from his hunched over position, digging at the small hole in the ground lying before the recently marked tombstone._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh, no,” Finn shakes his head quickly, feeling a chill go through him. “I’m just… I’m from D’Qar.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______He pauses for a moment to get the man’s reaction, wondering if perhaps Hux had spoken with this cemetery worker when he had come here._ _ _ _ _ _

______But the man only stares out at the mass of graves, the same way one would overlook a farm or a garden._ _ _ _ _ _

______“If yer wantin’ a body brought here from D’Qar, I suggest you get in touch with the transportation-”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“No, no,” Finn shakes his head again, wanting to slap himself for how bad this is going already. “I have no body that needs burying, I just… I actually came here to inquire about a body that is supposedly buried here.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______The old worker now raises an eyebrow now, looking curious enough at this information, but not overly eager._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh, is that so? Purdy odd thing to ask ‘bout…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“It’s actually rather… important business. I have reason to suspect some illegal activity concerning this particular body.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______The old man turns to face him now, his beady eyes squinting at him behind very bushy grey eyebrows._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Don’t ya gotta have some kind er badge fer that?” he questions suspiciously._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Pardon?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“A badge… ya gotta have er badge if yer a detective.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Oh, I’m no detective,” Finn assures him. “I’m… well, it’s a rather complicated situation…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hmph,” the man huffs loudly, making Finn jump. “Always is…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Is the body of Kylo Ren buried here?” he finally asks, deciding to just get to the point, which he should have done right away._ _ _ _ _ _

______He once again searches for recognition on the man’s face, but he just leans down and hauls up his shovel again, going back to what he had been doing when Finn had walked up._ _ _ _ _ _

______“What could er fine gentleman like yerself want with that son of er bitch?” he asks, calling out over the sharp sound of the shovel colliding with the thick dirt in the ground. “Filthy murderer, that one was. You know ‘e killed just ‘bout twenty people, in this ‘ol town alone. ‘Ard to guess what ‘e’s done anywhere else…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______So Kylo Ren was a killer._ _ _ _ _ _

______Something about that confirmation makes Finn’s heart sink a bit._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Well… if I could, I’d like to see it,” he continues, unsure of what the worker’s reaction to this will be. “I have reason to believe someone might have dug it up.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Be happy ter give ya yer answer right now, Mr. Non-Detective,” the gravedigger replies, still not taking his focus from his work. “Someone did dig up that ‘ol bastard’s body. Quite er bit ago too. Swept in tha middle of tha night, popped ‘im right outta tha ground. ‘Ain’t never seen ‘im since, but no one really cared much, so nothin’ was done ‘bout it.”_ _ _ _ _ _

_Damn._

__________Hux was telling the truth. The body they brought back to life was a ruthless killer, a body Hux stole from this graveyard months ago._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Can’t understand it,” the worker continues, shaking his head as he continues to shovel the dirt. “Why someone would want ter dig up that ‘ol bastard is beyond me. After all ‘e’s done, shoulda tossed ‘im down er mineshaft er somethin’... didn’ even know they gave murderer’s proper graves…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Finn feels his chest lurch in sudden realization as he follows the man’s gaze that has suddenly drifted off across the field of headstones, probably to where Kylo Ren’s grave is located._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“How old was Kylo Ren when he was executed?” Finn asks. “Do you know?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Sure do,” the worker nods. “Somethin’ close ter fifty years old, think it was…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________ _ _ _ _ _ _

________It takes Finn much less time to get back to D’Qar than it took him to leave it. He practically runs halfway, his mind so distracted and rushed to get back and tell Rey and Poe what he has learned from the gravedigger, that someone riding in a carriage passing by eventually stops and asks if he needs help getting somewhere._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Luckily, after that, Finn is able to hop from carriage to carriage until he arrives back in D’Qar, at which point, evening has begun to set over the maze of stone buildings._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He doesn’t even think about the fact that Hux could have already returned at this point when he bursts in through the doors, much to the butler’s visible dismay._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Hey!” Poe shouts, jumping up from where he had been sitting and waiting anxiously in the sitting room. “What hap-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Where’s Hux?” Finn gasps, his chest heaving as he tries to regain his breath._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“He just left,” Poe answers, his eyes wide as he takes in Finn’s expression. “Don’t worry, when he was here, I stuck with him the whole time. I managed to stave him off from going into the lab, but…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Finn is suddenly alarmed by the uncertain look in Poe’s eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“But what?!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I don’t know, he was acting… odd,” Poe replies, looking down at the ground for a moment before glancing back up to meet Finn’s eyes. “It was like he knew what I was doing. Like he expected me to try and distract him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Something about this doesn’t surprise Finn at all._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Well did he go through the back doors to the lab once he left?” Finn questions._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“No, I watched him from the window. He went back into town.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The two men quickly cease their discussion when a chambermaid suddenly comes waltzing down the stairs, carrying a handful of laundry in her arms._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Finn and Poe discreetly step further into the sitting room, away from prying eyes and ears of the servants._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Where’s Rey?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I’m here,” a voice calls out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Both men turn to find Rey rushing down the grand hallway towards them, a flustered look about her, as if she’s been running back and forth all day._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Is he gone?” she asks, looking this way and that._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Yeah, he left a few minutes ago,” Poe nods._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Rey, when was the last time you checked on him?” Finn now turns toward her as she approaches them. Among everything else, he also has to remind himself they are attempting to keep the creature hidden just out back in the woods._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“About an hour ago,” she replies, looking unhappy with that answer. “I couldn’t leave while Hux was here, or else I thought he might get suspicious.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Yes, he seemed incredibly anxious to have us all gathered in the dining room where he could keep a watch on us,” Poe answers._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“And I’ve certainly never known him to be so social,” Rey adds, a touch of venom in her voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“No wonder,” Finn nods. “I just got our answer.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Poe and Rey practically dive forward closer to him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“You were right, Rey,” he says to her, watching her hopeful eyes grow wider. “That man is not a murderer. In fact, that man isn’t even Kylo Ren. It’s someone else entirely.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey looks nothing but relieved, and a bit validated, but Poe looks as confused as ever._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I just visited the graveyard where Kylo Ren was buried. He was a murderer and his body was stolen, but he was also fifty years old. Nowhere close to how old the body we brought back to life was when he died.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Now the two of them look stunned, their eyes glazed over as they take in this information that changes everything._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“God,” Rey whispers, her hand covering her mouth as she stares at the ground in horror._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Hux is hiding something,” Finn states the now very obvious. “For whatever reason, there’s something about this body, who this man was, that he doesn’t want anyone to know. Not even me, when I still worked with him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Then why was the real Kylo Ren’s body stolen?” Poe questions, his face twisted in disgust and disbelief. “That can’t just be an amazing coincidence.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“No,” Finn agrees. “Before the one we managed to bring back to life, Hux stole tons of different bodies. But they were all either too old when they died, or too damaged to repair. I’m guessing Kylo Ren was one of the many failed trials. Hux probably took that name and that story and slapped it on whatever man we did bring back to life.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Finn tries to give the two of them a bit of time to take all of this in, but he can’t help but bring up the next confusing piece of this demented puzzle._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Skywalker,” he speaks, his voice heavy with realization. “Skywalker knew something…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________It still doesn’t quite make sense, but Finn can reasonably put the pieces together. The creature had killed the professor, yes, but was he perhaps… provoked?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Rey,” he speaks a bit louder, startling her back to attention. “You were the last one to see him before he went down there… what was he doing?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She shakes her head for a moment, looking bewildered as she tries to recall that far back, amidst everything else that has happened._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I… I don’t know, he was… he was in an awful hurry. Yes, and he… in fact, he seemed furious about something. He was demanding to know where Hux was, he said… he said something about stopping him from-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey’s eyes widen as a chilled feeling goes through her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Oh my God, he _knew _,” she realizes.__

____________Finn and Poe both exchange a grim look that is beyond Rey’s understanding._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________However, she begins to guess what horrid, unspoken secret lingers through the air. One that she really prays is not true._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Rey… Skywalker is dead.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Finn’s words ring hauntingly through the empty room as Rey begins to feel sick._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I found him down in the laboratory with Ky-... with the creature standing over him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“Oh God, I killed him,” Rey whispers, her eyes filling with tears as her chest becomes heavy. “I killed him, I… I was the one who told him that Hux would be down there… he went down there because of _me _…”__

______________“Rey,” Poe sighs incredulously. “That’s a crazy thing to blame yourself for. That was back before you even had the slightest inkling of what was going on… hell, I didn’t even know what was going on at that point. If I were there instead of you, I have no doubt that I would have said the same thing.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Finn’s hands go to his head as he desperately tries to decipher where they go from here, all while Rey is trying to come to terms with the fact that Skywalker is dead and was killed by the man she has been caring for over the past couple of weeks._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“It wasn’t your fault,” he reiterates to Rey. “And I don’t think it was the creature’s fault either. I sense Hux’s hand in all of this, and I have no doubt he is responsible. For all we know, he could have very well locked Skywalker inside with the creature after egging it on. I’ve seen the ways he tortures that thing, it would be so easy for him to…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He stops after seeing Rey’s expression._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I think we should go to Ach-To,” he continues on to the point at hand. “The college is there, that Luke worked at. If he told anyone of what he learned about Hux and his experiments, they would be there.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________All three of them nearly jump several feet into the air when the front doors burst open for the second time tonight._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Walking out of the sitting room and into the entrance room of the house, they find, not only the very displaced looking butler, but none other than Armitage Hux himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________His hair is windblown, his clothes disheveled and his expression looks as if he’s just been bustling his way through a crowd._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The four of them stand still as they stare back and forth between each other, the room filled with the strongest of tensions that feels ready to snap at any instant._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The three people standing in front of Hux have no idea what will happen next, what he will say or do. But everyone can tell that something has gone horribly wrong._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“It’s escaped,” Hux breathes, his voice sounding as flustered as his appearance. “I don’t know how, I… I had him chained with the chrome steel chains, he shouldn’t have been able to get out…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Rey’s face turns white and Finn feels as if he might vomit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“A man and a boy have already been killed,” Hux continues turning his head slightly, his eyes jumping this way and that, as if a solution would just magically appear. “In the woods… there are search parties out now, looking for it. The town is in a frenzy.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	12. Chapter 12

Rey knows… she _knows _it can’t be true. The man she knows, the man she has come to care for so deeply… he couldn’t have killed anyone. Not the kind man who has shown her the deepest tenderness, the most gentle care she has ever been given in her life.__

__But he had killed. He killed Skywalker. And now news is running wild about a murder of an old blind man taking a walk in the woods with his young grandchild… the woods near the estate. Where Rey had left him._ _

__Both their necks had been snapped. Now the town is demanding blood. The search parties will not stop until he has been found, until justice has been served and it is Kylo’s neck that is broken next._ _

__No… not Kylo… Lord, Rey doesn’t even know this man’s name. She doesn’t even know who he is, what he was in life. All she knows is his corpse, his prolonged existence that was never meant to be._ _

__Hux had wasted no time joining in on the angry mobs hunting the creature down, no doubt wanting to be the first one to catch him and kill him off quickly and quietly to preserve his own innocence. That leaves Rey, Finn, and Poe enough time for Poe to get them a carriage that will take them on the day’s trip to Ach-To._ _

__Rey would much rather stay behind and go out looking for the creature herself, worried sick that has been found already._ _

__She knows how scared he must be, that if he really did kill those people, it wasn’t out of malice, or hatred. It must have been out of fear. They must have seen him and been horrified and reacted in a violent way._ _

__Of course, Rey recognizes, this can’t excuse murdering two people, a child at that._ _

__But there is nothing they can do. None of them have a clue about where the creature would have gone off to, and with all the rowdy villagers running around, it’s not smart for them to go on a mission to protect the reason for their wrath._ _

__So they set off to Ach-To, sometime around midnight._ _

__Finn and Poe go in and out of sleep the whole way, but Rey stays awake, her gaze planted numbly outside the window, watching D’Qar slowly melt away, turning into vast fields of green and yellow, lands that are, as of now, unclaimed._ _

__Most of the journey will be like this until they reach their destination where the landscape will eventually transition into grand mountains surrounded by ocean._ _

__She recalls, not too long ago, being in the carriage that took her to the Hux estate. How nervous, yet eager she was that her life was about to change into something far more enjoyable than it had been. Far more easy._ _

__It’s late in the evening when they finally arrive, the carriage finally bringing them into the crisp, salt filled winds that surround the island-like town._ _

__It’s so much smaller than D’Qar, looking more like a quaint little village than a modern operating town, it’s buildings much smaller, like little stone huts rather than the towering, intimidating buildings that Rey had grown used to over the past few months._ _

__In fact, it reminds Rey every much of what Jakku had been like, except here, everyone looks much happier._ _

__After paying the driver a considerable amount for their long journey, the three of them begin making their way through town, Finn leading the way as he holds out a large map of the town to try and find the University._ _

__“It can’t be that hard to find,” Poe determines, scanning the map along with Finn as they continue strolling about the unfamiliar town. “According to this, it’s the biggest building here!”_ _

__“The drawings on the map are exaggerated, Poe, it’s not actually taller than the mountains, that would be insane-”_ _

__“Ok, then way are all the little huts over here drawn to scale, but this half of the town isn’t?”_ _

__“I don’t know, I didn’t make the map!”_ _

__“Then how do you know what’s exaggerated and what isn’t?”_ _

__“Because I’ve used a map before, and after a while, you start to get the idea of what all the different scales are…”_ _

__Rey starts to tune out Finn and Poe’s map arguments as she slowly begins scanning the passing buildings, looking out for anything that might help them. Everyone seems pretty welcoming, at least more than Jakku or D’Qar, so she doesn’t find herself too disinclined to ask for help._ _

__“Hey!” she speaks over them, ceasing their arguing as all three of them come to a halt._ _

__Rey stands behind them, staring off at a small little office they had just stopped in front of._ _

__A police station._ _

__Finn and Poe look like they are immediately about to protest, but Rey stops them before they can speak._ _

__“Look, I’m not willing to spend all night here listening to you two fight over a map when we’re in a hurry, and there’s a solution right in front of us.”_ _

__“Rey, I’m not sure if you’ve forgotten about our situation or not,” Poe whispers, his eyes glancing nervously back and forth between her and the ominous building, “but having law officials involved at this point would be a bit counterproductive, wouldn’t you say?”_ _

__“Look, what would be so suspicious about three tourists asking for directions?” Rey counters, straightening out her dress and her shawl before turning on her heel and marching past the two of them over to the building. “But if it makes you too nervous, I’ll do it myself.”_ _

__She’s done wasting time. The man she loves could be dead by now, and dammit if she’s going to spend the next two days waltzing around in circles._ _

__Just as she reaches her hand out to open the heavy wooden door, it flies open towards her, nearly crashing into her and sending her tumbling back the way she’d come._ _

__Luckily, she dodges out of the way just in time, but almost not in time to avoid colliding against the man who had just burst out of the station._ _

__He certainly isn’t an officer, that much is immediately clear. He is an older looking man with light grey hair and a tired face that looks like it has seen far too much._ _

__His ragged clothes match his disheveled appearance, instantly separating him from every other person in town Rey has seen thus far. In fact, as soon as the man has stepped out onto the street, anyone who happens to be close by practically jerks to a halt in their tracks to turn and look at the man, most of them looking startled at seeing him. Others look around uncomfortably, as if they don’t know how they should react._ _

__Finn and Poe just stand there dumbfounded, the map still hanging loosely in both their hands as they glance around, trying to figure out why the fairly busy little town has suddenly been hit with a wave of unbearable silence._ _

__What makes Rey’s heart freeze in her chest is the look on the man’s face._ _

__It is perhaps the most broken expression she has ever seen on one’s face. It rings with almost every horrid emotion she can think of. Anger, sadness, fear, pain, guilt… even just looking at the man’s eyes, Rey can hardly stand._ _

__The man’s distraught aura seems to be carried with him, like an unseen force that hits everyone once they turn their eyes on him._ _

_What happened to you? _Rey finds herself wanting to ask, feeling as if her chest has turned to ice cold stone.__

______The man doesn’t look at all surprised at the reaction he gets from the town. In fact, he hardly looks as if he’s even seeing anything in front of him. His mind is off somewhere far away, somewhere terrifying, a place Rey hopes she will never have to go._ _ _ _ _ _

____He looks at her briefly after she nearly runs into him, but that’s it. Still, it’s enough for her to easily recognize there is something very wrong with this poor man._ _ _ _

____“Mr. Solo, I am sorry!” someone from inside the office calls out, running up to the door. The man doesn’t turn to acknowledge him. “You know if we could help we would, but we’ve done all we can at this point, and I’m afraid there’s nothing more that-”_ _ _ _

____Without speaking a word, without moving his face an inch from the anognized display that it is, the man suddenly stalks off, all eyes following him as he moves down the street, his movements jagged and filled with anger and desperation._ _ _ _

____Rey is surprised to find it incredibly hard to take her own eyes off the man and refocus on what it was she was trying to do before this commotion._ _ _ _

____“I’m so sorry Miss, were you in need of something?”_ _ _ _

____She turns back to see the man standing at the door, the man who had just been speaking. He’s very young with shiny brown hair and a disposition that makes Rey think he is far too young to be a police officer. He too looks a little rattled from the interaction._ _ _ _

____“Um… yes,” Rey nods, reminding herself that she has her own problems she needs to be worrying about._ _ _ _

____According to the expression on his face, the man obviously recognizes that she is not from around here._ _ _ _

____“Of course, of course!” he grins broadly, his bright blue eyes lighting up significantly compared to when he had been trying to converse with the other man. “Please, come in.”_ _ _ _

____Rey is about to protest, but decides to just go along with it, still in a bit of a daze as she follows the man into the station._ _ _ _

____The place is incredibly small, at least this room is, with only a front desk decorated with a typewriter, a lamp, and a thick stack of papers._ _ _ _

____Nothing how Rey pictured a police station would be like, but this is a very small town. Even the young man who had led her in and is sitting behind the desk now is dressed in uniform, but looks nothing like a law official._ _ _ _

____“You must be new in town,” he continues talking to her cheerfully. “Visiting?”_ _ _ _

____“Ah, yes,” Rey replies, still trying to shake herself out of her confused daze. Obviously she doesn’t do a very good job at hiding her worry._ _ _ _

____“I’m sorry about that,” the man apologizes, nodding off towards the window looking out over the streets of town, where the man had bounded off. “Han Solo is a very… distressed man.”_ _ _ _

____Rey thinks that’s putting it a little lightly._ _ _ _

____“Really, you don’t have to worry about him,” the young man continues, looking as if he’s desperately trying to reassure her. “He lives up in a private estate way up on the highest mountain. More of a hermit actually, usually wants nothing to do with anything down here in town, except…”_ _ _ _

____A dark look filters through the man’s eyes for the briefest second, but he brushes it off quickly._ _ _ _

____“Well, never mind. I hope he didn’t upset you, Miss.”_ _ _ _

____“No, of course not,” Rey quickly lies. “Actually, I was just wondering if I could get some proper directions to the University. My friends and I are going to visit an old friend, and we’ve been trying to follow some old map we’d gotten, but it doesn’t seem to be going awfully well…”_ _ _ _

____“Why, of course!” the man replies happily. “Indeed, maps of this old place can get confusing. Things have been rearranged and rebuilt so many times, after all…”_ _ _ _

____He leans down and opens a drawer behind the desk, and Rey hears a few papers rustling._ _ _ _

____“However,” he continues, leaning back up straight in his chair and unfolding a whole new map out on the desk, “you’ll find it is quite easy to locate…”_ _ _ _

____ _ _

____As it turns out, the new map from the station works vastly better. It’s also completely different than the map Finn and Poe had gotten from the carriage driver, making them rethink the amount of money they had paid him._ _ _ _

____Everything goes smoothly from there. However, it’s when they actually do arrive at the University that they hit another dead end._ _ _ _

____Aside from noting that Luke Skywalker has been missing for some time, the fellow staff seem to have absolutely no knowledge of where he had gone off to, let alone what he was doing._ _ _ _

____“I couldn’t tell you,” one of the professors they’re conversing with in the font lobby shakes his head. “I do find it odd that he was meant to meet with you and never showed up… that’s just not like him.”_ _ _ _

____“Is it like him not to show up for work for weeks on end?” Poe questions a bit irritably, causing Finn to lightly elbow him in the ribs._ _ _ _

____“To be quite honest, yes,” the grey robed professor relays. “Sometimes he goes off on these little escapades to clear his mind and soul. He’s a pretty odd fellow, so I assumed that was where he’d gone off to this time. He has no family, at least that any of us know of, so we can’t exactly call up his wife to see where he’s gone. He always returns, one way or another. It’s not as if he’d ever get fired, he owns half the school.”_ _ _ _

____Rey’s heart sinks._ _ _ _

____So that’s it. This was their last lifeline. How in the world are they going to get answers now?_ _ _ _

____“Do you know anything about Armitage Hux?” Rey asks suddenly, feeling desperate at this point._ _ _ _

____The name seems to send a chill of something through the room, and the professor even turns back to glance at the secretary sitting at the back of the room._ _ _ _

____“Are you… in relation to Mr. Hux?” the man carefully asks, his eyes looking weary, as if this was a problem he thought he had dealt with._ _ _ _

____“No,” Finn answers with just as much grimace in his tone. “But we know of him.”_ _ _ _

____The professor shakes his head, now looking dismayed._ _ _ _

____“After all his time here… I’m afraid there is no help that can be given to that young man. He is far too self-important for this work. That is why we had to expel him.”_ _ _ _

____This sends another shocked silence through the room but for an entirely different reason._ _ _ _

“ _What? _” Poe gapes.__

________“What do you mean expelled?” Rey questions in disbelief._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______“He wasn’t expelled,” Finn denies, though even he looks a bit shaky at his argument. “He said… he told me he left, that he couldn’t…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Finn becomes lost in a whirlwind of thoughts in his head._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I don’t know what he may have told everyone, but it was made quite clear to him that he would no longer be welcomed on these grounds,” the professor continues, his tone becoming firm, his eyes narrowed. “Not with all of his disgraceful behavior, his outrageous jealousy of other students, his dangerous methods… he would do well to stay away from here as long as I, and the other professors are around.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

Though they at first think their long journey here might have been made for nothing at all but more wasted time, once Rey, Finn, and Poe arrive at the _Seaside Inn _where they will be staying the night, they find they get more answers than they did at the University.__

__________When they get there, they expect to do nothing but go up to their adequate, double bedroom and go to sleep, but after they enter the rather relaxed atmosphere, they decide to stay down in the makeshift lobby for a couple hours, if only to calm their rattled nerves._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________It’s a warm, inviting mood down where everyone is seated at various tables and comfortable chairs around a much needed fire in the stone fireplace against the wall. It fills the room with a tranquil glow that makes Rey feel as if she’s had a cup of warm tea and is settling in for the night._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Of course, none of them can bring themselves to be that relaxed, but it’s a nice, if yet brief distraction._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________And it’s the fireside conversation that sparks interest in all of them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Did you see?” someone speaks out sitting at one of the armchairs circled around the wooden table of hot chocolate or tea everyone is sipping at. “Han Solo came to town again today.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey begins listening in immediately, turning her head away from the small table that she, Finn, and Poe had chosen to sit at while they halfheartedly try to discuss their next plan._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Good Lord,” a woman breathes, touching a hand to her chest as she sits with a knitted blanket wrapped around her shoulders. “That poor man… I can’t imagine his pain.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What is he still doing coming down into town?” a man smoking a pipe asks a bit louder from across the table. “He must know by now… well I mean, so much time has passed…”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Don’t be so flippant Henry, it hasn’t even been a year,” the woman in the blanket chastises him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Well, perhaps there’s a reason his son has left him,” another woman sitting in an armchair and crocheting speaks out, not taking her eyes from her work. “After all, all we’ve seen of that man is when he took his monthly trips into town, acted cold and grouchy towards everyone, and then ran up back to his solitude. If I had to live with a man like that, I would certainly start to go a bit mad.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Elizabeth, you shouldn’t speak in such ways,” the woman in the blanket gasps. “We know nothing of that man and his troubles.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Now Finn and Poe have turned to listen as well._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I just think it’s a waste of time,” the man with the pipe sighs, shaking his head as he rises from his chair and paces towards the fireplace, staring into the flickering flames with concern in his eyes. “Man shouldn’t hold on like that. It’s best for him to start finding a way to move on rather than drag this out for so long. He’ll drive himself mad, if he hasn’t already.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Would you not be mad if you lost a child?” the woman in the blanket whispers harshly. “What that man needs is respect and understanding from us, and not a single person has given it to him-”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What happened to his son?” Poe suddenly jumps into the conversation, making sure his question is loud enough so the group of people can hear him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________They all turn back to face the table of three outsiders who had begun listening in on their discussion. In fact, the entire room of people suddenly goes a bit quiet as they all look at Poe, most of them with uncomfortable or saddened expressions on their faces, unwilling to answer his inquiry._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“His son’s gone missing,” the man with the pipe finally answers after moments of unbearably awkward silence. He leans his hand against the mantle, still gazing into the orange glow as he smokes his pipe. “Ben Solo. Promising young fellow… well, at least more so than that old coot.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“He was so kind,” the woman in the blanket speaks again, her voice soft and mournful. “I ran into him once or twice in town. And so intelligent. Ahead of his class his entire life.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Class?” Finn questions._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Yes, in school,” the woman nods, glancing up to meet Finn’s intrigued stare. “I was… I was sure he was destined for great things.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“What happened to him?” Rey asks, unable to explain the sickening feeling surging through her chest that makes her feel as if she either might retch or cry._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“No one knows,” the woman crocheting answers, still not looking up from her hands madly sewing the scarf she’s at work on. “Disappeared one night, apparently, Never came home. His father came marching down into town, furious, but no one had no idea what happened. So, there’s no way anyone can really help him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“My point exactly,” the man with the pipe agrees. “Poor man’s just making it worse on everyone, including himself.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey feels her throat close up, an ache of pain in her stomach._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“That’s horrible,” she speaks, her voice coming out a bit choked._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“How long ago was this?” Finn asks now, leaning forward a bit from the table. Rey almost wants to beg him to stop asking. She doesn’t want to know the answer._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Seven or so months?” the woman crocheting answers uncertainly. “Maybe more. Hard to remember.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey’s eyes close as her heart beats faster in her chest._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“And how old was this… Ben Solo when he disappeared?” Poe continues, though the three of them know what the answer will be by this point._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Why… I believe he would have been thirty this year,” the woman in the blanket responds thoughtfully. “Just about to graduate from that fancy University.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	13. Chapter 13

No one knows what to do by the end of the night. They hardly even speak to each other. They know the answer to most of their questions, but there is still far more to know. And perhaps they are a bit reluctant to learn.

Finn and Poe go to bed after midnight, only because they can hardly keep their eyes open any longer. But Rey is unable to do anything but lie awake and stare at the ceiling, feeling as if her body is operating mechanically, her emotions absent as her mind rests numbly in a dull haze. 

It’s only after an hour of that she decides to go back down to the lobby, finding it dim and deserted, everyone having gone to bed by this point and the fire having been reduced to a handful of glowing red embers sitting stagnant in the crumpled wood. 

After sitting in the dark silence for only a few minutes, she feels her mind kick back into gear, causing her to stand up, throw her cloak over her shoulders, and sneak off into the night.

It’s easy for her to find the University again, since she is able to recall the path they had taken from there to get to the Inn, even though the town looks slightly different in the dark, lit only by a very few group of lamps here and there hanging from buildings and occasionally glowing from the inside of huts. 

She can’t believe what she’s doing when she actually does arrive at the grand school building and begins climbing her way up the side of one of the walls until she finds a window that had been left unlocked.

Growing up in Jakku, it wasn’t unusual to have to climb your way up structures and fit into rather odd places when looking for some extra food, running away from someone, or just because there was nothing else to do. 

Sliding in through the now open window, Rey finds herself inside an extremely darkened and very large classroom.

It’s difficult to navigate her way through the many rows of chairs and desks without constantly bumping into something or nearly tripping down the rest of the way to the floor of the lecture room where a large chalkboard sits in front of a long desk that holds a variety of jars, books, and all kinds of science-like equipment that Rey guesses have extremely long and confusing names and even more confusing explanations. 

Once she reaches the door to the classroom that presumably leads out into the hall, she finds it locked, but is easily able to pick it loose with a pin from her hair. Another trick she learned some time ago in Jakku.

There’s an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach as Rey sneaks her way through the many hallways in the large school, stopping at each posted directory hanging from any of the walls to try and make out where she is and how close she is to her destination. But she knows she would never be given the information she needs, and she does need it. Even though, by this point, she knows she is most likely right in her assumption. 

But she needs to know for sure. 

Somehow, she is able to find the records office, even though galavanting through this enormous place had been akin to trying to navigate one’s way through an impossible maze with the added difficulty of no light apart from that trickling in from the dim moonlight through the windows high on the walls. 

Once inside the rather small office, and after picking open the lock on the drawer for the files labeled with the correct semesters she needs to see, Rey is plunging through piles and piles of old papers filled with a sea of names and classes, desperate to find the correct one she needs. 

It seems to be an unachievable feat in the first minute or so. Looking through the mess of papers would have been hard enough without the fact that the only source of light she has is if she shoves herself up against the single window in the small office that only allows a minimal layer of dull glowing light from the night outside to fall upon the slightly yellowed papers. But Rey is determined as she tears through the pages, setting it in her mind that she is not leaving until she has her answer, her physical confirmation in her hands. 

And after what feels like hours pouring over each individual page inside the drawer, she has it.

It is the list of advanced students. Promising students that were supposedly going to have careers after their education here. 

She finds the two names she’s been looking for right away. Both at the top of the list, causing Rey to expect that not only were they in the same class, but they had both been vying for the top spot. 

Ben Solo and Armitage Hux. 

Rey is shaking as she hurries down the dark empty streets of Ach-To, huddled in her cloak as the chilly breeze from the nearby sea runs icily through the stone structures around her.

For the first time, she doesn’t feel hopelessly confused. The answer to this gruesome mystery is so close now. And for that reason, she is all the more terrified. 

In a way, she wishes she never knew about any of it. She wishes she was a different person. That she could have simply lived out the rest of her life in Jakku, alone, but undisturbed, hidden away from the horrors that were ready to fall upon her as soon as she arrived in D’Qar. 

Even now, as she’s whisking her way through this cold and empty town, she wonders if she could sneak away, find a train or stagecoach to board that will take her far far away to the desert and the heat, and the grimy little town that at least had grown to make sense to her.

But of course she knows she can’t. She can’t leave Finn and Poe alone to handle all of this. And more importantly, she can’t leave Ben alone when she has been the only kindness he’s known since he’d woken up a revived corpse.

Rey becomes so lost in her wave of overwhelming and agonizing thoughts, that it takes her far too long to notice the group of men that had slowly emerged from a nearby alleyway and have begun following her down the very isolated cobblestone path. 

She can smell the wave of alcohol that they carry with them as they go, but it’s much too late to hope they haven’t noticed her. 

“Where are you off to at this time of night, my dear?” one of them calls out drunkenly behind her. 

“Don’t recall seeing you around here before,” another one slurs as they all laugh in a way that makes her spine stiffen. 

Her feet move quicker against the street. She can’t be far from the Inn. It didn’t take her that long to get here from there, right? She must be close…

For one sickening moment, she considers if maybe she’s gotten herself lost in the unfamiliar streets that are already strange enough to her considering she’s only been here today, and now the town is devoid of daylight. 

She figures it’s best not to respond to the unruly men. Recalling once again her days in Jakku, she remembers it was always best to keep your head down and blend into the crowd as much as possible if you were ever suspicious that there might be a thief in your midst.

However here, there is no crowd to disappear into. 

“Slow down now, love,” one of them huffs after her, jogging a bit just to get close enough to latch his hand onto her shoulder, pulling her back a bit. 

It takes only one sideways glance towards the much larger man for Rey to see the look in his eyes is much more devious than that of a simple man who’s had too much to drink.

A spike of fear chills her spine, causing her movements to momentarily halt in fear before she forces her body back to the obvious conclusion of continuing to move away as fast as possible. 

She’s heard stories. Horrible stories that would surface every now and then about young women who got attacked by beastly men while walking alone in the night, Their bodies found bloodied and beaten beyond recognition the next morning. 

Rey never kept such a fear in her heart. They were nothing but cautionary tales to her, warnings for young girls to hurry up and get a husband so that demons won’t snatch them away in the night. And she decides in this moment that she will not become one of those sorrowful tales. 

She tries shrugging the man’s grip off her, but he holds on, using his other hand to now latch onto her forearm, attempting to stop her in her tracks. 

“Now, I don’t think you’re bein’ very polite, honey,” another one of the men says in a humorless tone, walking up on her other side and grabbing her other arm. 

“Gentlemen,” she speaks, hoping her voice sounds firm and undaunted, “I kindly suggest that you let go of me.”

An alleyway comes into sight, that in all other circumstances would look like a direction one would never venture towards. But Rey considers that she could perhaps break out into a run once they get closer to it, catching the men off guard, and then make a run for it down the narrow alley, hidden by the darkness enough that they will immediately lose sight of her, giving her more than enough time to escape. Granted, she might become hopelessly lost after that point, but lost is better than dead.

“Oh yeah?” a third man asks, suddenly leaping around the other two and standing in front of her, forcing her to stop now, trapped between the three men. 

Her escape route idea won’t do much good now. 

“Yes,” she asserts, keeping her gaze steady as she yanks herself away from the hands circling her arms. 

Her hands raise to her chest in an attempt to pull her cloak closer around her as she moves to step slowly around the three black suited men that are all staring her down with morbidly gleeful grins painted on their unshaven faces. 

The man who had stepped in front of her keeps his eyes glued to her as he raises the bottle in his hands to his mouth, taking a deep gulp while Rey carefully prays for the impossible, that the three of them are going to allow her to keep walking without another word. 

But she knows, even before they grab her again, that hope was incredibly pointless.

He tried to do what she had told him. He tried to stay where she had left him, in the peaceful place with all the trees and the calm trickle of water. But something had sparked in him. 

He didn’t know what it was. It felt like the visions he would have when he went unconscious, when that man would hurt him and put him to sleep, or when his equally cruel assistant would stab him with that needle and make everything go dark. 

Whatever it was, he felt it calling to him, Promising that if he followed it, everything would start to be ok.

It made his chest ache, knowing he was leaving her behind, not following her pleas. 

Rey… he hoped she was here too. Because wherever this is, wherever he has ended up after painfully long stretches of night and day, walking and walking along seemingly endless roads and valleys, he knows he is in the right place. 

As soon as he had set foot into the darkened little town, left lonely and cold by the night, he began to feel something. Something deep inside him. A warmth. Comfort, like what he felt with Rey. But this wasn’t the new and exciting comfort she had brought. This was something… familiar.

Has he been here before? No… he hasn’t been anywhere, except that awful dungeon where the two men have been keeping him. Why hasn’t he been anywhere else… why can’t he _remember _…__

__Rey had helped him remember. Pieces of himself. Words, feelings. Being human. If that’s what he was… she assured him that is what he is. Human. But why did the others call him a creature? A monster…_ _

__He can’t quite recall what such terms mean, but he senses they aren’t so desirable._ _

__Kylo… Rey had said his name was Kylo. The name seemed strange to him, unfit, but he knows no other, so he had accepted it._ _

__Still, it is hard to think of himself with such a name that doesn’t resonate with him at all._ _

__He gazes in awe at the little grey stone built huts that are gathered along with empty streets of this little town. This town that he can’t think of a name for. It is so much better than the town he had walked through before, when he had gotten Rey from the building above his dungeon and tried to bring her with him away from that awful place. Before those cruel men had stopped him, taken her from him, and punished him for trying to escape. At least, that’s what he thought was happening. Maybe they just liked torturing him no matter what he did._ _

__Because he is a monster._ _

__No… not here. Here feels so much better. He is so far away now, from that cold, terrifying place where he only felt pain and fear. This place feels like… like…_ _

_Home _. Yes… that’s the word. He can’t remember what it means, but it is something good. Home… he will have to tell Rey once he finds her again. Maybe she can tell him what it means.__

______He hopes something else will miraculously appear back in his memory as he walks the endless streets, but there is not much more. He wonders if things will be more familiar once the sun is out… daylight, something he has seen so little of, only when Rey had been able to sneak him out into the woods on those special occasions. He had seen a lot of it on his journey here, but he had been alone in a seemingly empty void._ _ _ _ _ _

____Here there will be people… but will they treat him as Rey has? Or like the others have?_ _ _ _

____He realizes he may be close to finding out the answer to that question sooner than planned._ _ _ _

____He sees movement at the far end of the street he has turned down, assuming it would be more of the same that he has seen so far._ _ _ _

____As he moves closer, careful to keep himself hidden amongst the shadows, not wanting to scare anyone into hurting him with one of those startling weapons the men had used on him that night, that was able to send something biting into his skin even from several yards away, he can see that it looks much like a small group of people moving in very odd fashions, as if they were struggling with something._ _ _ _

____He hears laughing as he approaches. Strange laughing… not light and good like when Rey had laughed with him. This laughing makes his stomach curl in disgust._ _ _ _

____The figures suddenly move back against one of the stone walls and something collides loudly against the structure._ _ _ _

____Men. He can tell now they are men. Three of them…_ _ _ _

____A spike of horror goes through him as he stops and freezes in his tracks._ _ _ _

____No… that’s impossible… these can’t be the same three men. They can’t have followed him all the way here…_ _ _ _

____No. They didn’t. Because as his eyes focus closer, he sees these three men don’t resemble the ones keeping him captive at all._ _ _ _

____But these men look just as evil once he is able to see their faces. He hadn’t been wrong to feel repulsed by their laughter. Because finally, as he’s only a few feet away, he can see the person who had slammed into the wall, the person they are all grabbing and holding on to, is Rey._ _ _ _

Rey… _his _Rey.__

________Part of him wants to rejoice in the fact that his instinct had been right. She _is _here, in this place that has been calling him.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________But all he can feel is rage. That same, bubbling rage that has been alive inside him ever since he had woken up inside that horrific dungeon._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The men are pulling at her, digging their hands into her to try to keep her still. All the while, she is growling, her eyes alight with fire as she thrashes and kicks against them. She screams angrily until one of them pushes his hand against her face to keep her quiet._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Even though it looks like Rey can’t manage to escape the forceful grip of the three men, it also looks like they’re having a difficult time holding her down. One of them even has a very bloody scratch down the side of his face that looks quite recent and painful._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_What are they trying to do to her? _he wonders briefly before pushing the thought aside.__

____________It doesn’t matter what they’re trying to do. They’re hurting her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He moves forward, out of the protective shadows he had been lurking in, taking only a couple steps before he is right behind the wretched men._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He takes the first one by the neck yanking him off of her with ease._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________His gaze is filled with dangerous fury, blinded by nothing else but making sure these men are dead._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The man he’s holding doesn’t even have time to look up at the creature holding him before his neck is broken in two._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The others are now looking back, seeing their deceased comrade on the ground and the lumbering man standing above him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The man with the bleeding gash on his face, who had been standing directly in front of Rey releases her, taking some kind of glass bottle he had in his hand and smashing it against the wall._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He runs toward the creature with the jagged glass weapon, but Kylo catches the weak man easily, grabbing the arm that holds the bottle and twisting all the way around until it hardly resembles a human arm anymore._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Screams fill the air until the broken bottle ends up embedded in the man’s face._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The third and final man remains still at first, looking on in horror, amazement, confusion. Kylo can’t tell. He doesn’t care. All he can see is that the man’s hand is still circled around Rey’s throat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He grabs the man by his coat, pulling him off of her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________The man swings at him lazily. Kylo dodges him easily, keeping ahold of him by his coat, before sticking his hand right through the man’s chest._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He hears Rey scream in terror as the man falls to the ground, a bloodied hole in his body._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He looks over to see her still standing against the wall. In fact, it looks as if she’s doing everything she can to back into the wall. There is terror in her eyes, more terror than there was when the men had been attacking her. Now she’s staring at their bodies strewn across the street as if she’s never seen anything so gruesome._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Cocking his head at her in confusion, he starts to step closer to her, and is startled to see her jump in fright, her fearful eyes now on him, her body frozen as if she’s scared of what he’ll do next._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Why? Why is she scared of me?_

______________He moves closer, but tries to relax, not moving to grab her immediately, remembering how she would tell him sometimes that he holds her too roughly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Rey,” he speaks, trying to make his voice as gentle and inviting as she always does with him. He wants so badly to pull her away from that wall and hold her in his arms, to feel her comforting embrace that has calmed him ever since she first touched him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Finally, she seems to breathe a sigh of relief, her eyes warming as she looks toward him. He finds himself matching her sigh of relief, seeing her starting to look normal again. Back to the Rey who helps him, who heals his wounds, who makes him feel warm and safe._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She speaks one word to him. A word that sends a shock through him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Ben.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The word isn’t just a word. It’s a name. His name._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Ben _. That is who he is. The single syllable ignites a wave of feelings, memories, words rushing through his mind.__

_Ben. Home. Ach-To. School. Han…_

_____________________His breathing is heavy as he drops to his knees, feeling the weight of a thousand worlds crashing down on his shoulders, intent on burying him into the ground._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He needs her… he needs her help…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________And she’s there. It only takes her a short moment to see the pain of finally remembering, finally getting a piece of himself back, and she is at his side, her arms around him, letting him rest his head against his chest._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He listens to the ever calming sound of the soft thumping in her chest, letting it send a tranquil, numbing lull over him as her hands delicately stroke through his hair._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	14. Chapter 14

Rey takes him back to the Inn, only because there is truly nowhere else to go. She is just thankful that everyone is most certainly asleep at this hour, and that there is at least a door separating her bedroom from Finn and Poe’s. Still, she is entirely aware of the fact that either one of them can at any point walk in and see her… well, in bed with Ben.

She didn’t know how else to comfort him. He obviously walked the entire way from D’Qar to Ach-To, however that was possible, and now after the revival that calling him by his real name had given him, he looks like he needs to sleep for about five years. 

But sleep seems to be the last thing on his mind.

He is quiet and still while she takes him to the tub and helps him wash off and gives him clean clothes to wear. Although they fit a bit awkwardly since they were only spares she had found in one of the closets and weren’t made for someone over six feet tall. 

She tries to get him to relax once she has him laying down in bed, hoping the unfamiliar comfort will be enough to send him straight to sleep, but now that he has seemed to half awoken from whatever barrier was on his memory, he seems to be noticing all kinds of things that don’t make sense.

He looks at himself, at a body he doesn’t recognize, pointing things out that aren’t familiar to him.

Rey tries her best to answer him, seeing how scared and aggravated he is becoming, but it’s difficult when she doesn’t know all the answers herself. 

“I know you’re afraid,” she says to him quietly, her hand still stroking through his hair in an attempt to keep his calm. “But everything’s going to be alright now. You’re safe, Ben.” 

His fingers trace along the scars covering his torso, his arms, his legs… everywhere Hux had cut into him. Some while he was still dead, others perhaps while he was conscious. 

His body shakes with fright and confusion while Rey desperately tries to engulf him in her arms, unable to imagine how painfully lonely he must feel. Now, and for the past few months when he was locked in a basement, everyone around him treating him like some horrid creature. 

Suddenly, Rey’s lonely existence doesn’t look as bad as she thought it had. 

Ben suddenly lets out a cry of anguish and frustration, tears streaking down his face as he suddenly claws at a scar on his arm. 

“No,” Rey orders calmly but firmly as she places her hand on his. “Look at me.” 

He stops his momentary thrashing, turning his face to look into her eyes, looking as if he is pleading with her to understand. To help him. 

“Your name is Ben Solo,” Rey states, seeing the blissful recognition flicker over his expression. “You have a father who loves you very much. His name is Han.”

She speaks and repeats things slowly until she sees him start to understand.

“Han Solo… do you remember him?” 

Something clicks again, like it did when she first told him his name, and he nods at her quickly, his eyes lit up with hope.

“Han,” he speaks, his voice thick with something finally resembling happiness. “Dad… Han…”

“Yes,” Rey smiles encouragingly. “You went to school. You went to the University. You were a medical student…” 

This information he seems unable or unwilling to remember. She eventually is able to get him to remember the University, but he goes silent for a while as she tries to explain to him that he was studying there to be a doctor. 

That is, until he mentions a name.

“Luke.” 

That’s all he says and everything goes deadly silent between them. She looks into his eyes carefully to try and determine what is going through his head. But all he does is stare blankly across the room at the wall.

By now, Rey has no doubt in her mind that Luke’s death had been a horrible accident, and Ben hadn’t meant to kill him. She is sure the entire thing must have been somehow orchestrated by Hux, perhaps to simply get the professor out of the way and convince everyone further that Ben is a monster.

Thinking that perhaps this particular subject might not be the direction to go in tonight, Rey switches to another thing that has been on her mind.

“You remembered this place,” she tells him, attempting to take his mind away from whatever he might be thinking about concerning Luke Skywalker. “All on your own, you’ve remembered this place from the beginning.”

He turns to look at her again, a lighter look in his eyes.

“Is this where you were trying to take me? That night you carried me out of the house?”

She’s ready to ask the question again, or in a different way to try and make him understand, but he already does.

“I wanted you here,” he speaks, looking almost relieved that she finally understands. “I wanted us to be here. Home. It’s… better here.”

“I think I would agree,” she replies honestly. 

She offers him a smile, and he returns it warmly before settling back down in her arms, finally looking at ease. 

“Thank you for… helping me tonight, Ben,” she tells him, careful not to shudder again at the memory of how he had gruesomely handled those awful men. But how can she blame him when she had wanted to do the same to them?

“You helped me,” he answers back pointedly. 

She laughs quietly, despite herself. 

“You’re right. I suppose we owe each other a great debt.” 

Rey holds him close, ever surprised at how warm he feels when he should feel colder than death. 

_How in the world did I get here? ___

__If things had all gone the way they were supposed to, she would be wed to Hux by now. Instead…_ _

__“I promise I’m going to help you, Ben,” she vows to him as he closes his eyes and rests comfortably against her body. “I’m going to do everything I can.”_ _

______ _ _ _ _

__Thankfully, Finn and Poe are only flabbergasted for about an hour the next morning when Rey tries explaining to them that Ben had somehow trekked all the way from D’Qar to Ach-To and remembered more about his former life. Because what they are even more interested in are the documents she had stolen from the school._ _

__“This is it,” Poe announces eagerly as he and Finn stare wide eyed at the papers in front of them that show Ben Solo and Armitage Hux had been vying for the top spot in the class. “This is what we needed.”_ _

__“Surely there are people who will testify that Hux and Solo had some kind of rivalry between them,” Finn continues before carefully glancing across the room where Ben sits at the window, staring out numbly into the streets below where the town has begun to rise out of its slumber._ _

__Ben had been a bit… troubled at the sight of Finn and Poe this morning, given the fact that their past interactions haven’t been too positive. It took Rey some time to calm him down, to try and make it clear to him that the men were not going to hurt him, that he is perfectly safe._ _

__In the end, Rey determined it was best that Ben sit away and not look at them for now, since his feelings towards the two men remain a bit aggrieved._ _

__“Has he… I mean, does he…”_ _

__“I haven’t asked him about Hux,” Rey answers, keeping her voice low enough for Ben not to overhear them from the other side of the room. “His mind went through so much last night, I didn’t want to push him.”_ _

__“He must be able to remember if Hux… well, if he did what we’re all thinking he did,” Poe protests._ _

__“There’s no question,” Rey replies bitterly, her heart swelling in hate. “Hux murdered him. That’s why Luke wanted to see him that day. To stop him. He must have guessed what had happened. You heard that other professor at the University, Hux had rivalries with everyone. Imagine the hatred he would have had towards someone who he couldn’t beat in his own class.”_ _

__“According to this, and what the woman said last night, Ben Solo was ahead of everyone in his own age category,” Finn nods, looking down at the paper. “That’s why he was moved up to Hux’s level. All the more reason for Hux to become infuriated that someone that much younger than him was just as good as he was.”_ _

__Rey casts another gaze towards where Ben is sitting at the window seat, his hand now gently pressed against the glass. He slowly leans forward to rest his forehead against the window._ _

__“I say we have enough,” Poe reiterates, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “With all this proof, there’s no way we won’t be able to get him arrested. And if he tries to accuse us, I say we just deny everything.”_ _

“That’s easy for you two,” Finn speaks, his eyes solemn with guilt. “In case you’ve forgotten, I helped dispose of the body of a dead man. I covered up a _murder _.”__

______“You were forced,” Poe shrugs, looking seriously into Finn’s eyes. “That’s not too big a stretch. None of the professors at the University are on Hux’s side, remember. They’ll back us up, I know it.”_ _ _ _ _ _

____“Maybe we should talk to Han Solo,” Rey suddenly suggests. “Maybe he knows more about what happened.”_ _ _ _

____“Rey, if he knew anything else, he would have told the police,” Poe reminds her. “And if he suspected Hux killed his only son, I think the man would have just gone off to murder Hux himself. He seems the type, anyway.”_ _ _ _

____“Well maybe you two can go back to D’Qar and sort all of this out, and I can stay here with Ben,” Rey continues. Honestly, she’s more desperate to find a way to get Ben away from all of this before finding a way to get Hux locked up. But of course, she knows that’s not practical._ _ _ _

____“We’ll need the police to see Ben if we want them to believe us,” Finn tells her. “Without him, it would just be the two of us making baseless claims. They won’t do a thing. And… according to what transpired last night, you’ll want to make him scarce around here anyway.”_ _ _ _

____She had nearly forgotten about that. The bodies of the three men have surely been discovered by now. It’s best if she and Ben are nowhere in sight, just in case._ _ _ _

____“I know,” Rey nods, a palm resting against her head. “I just… I care about him.”_ _ _ _

____“I know you do,” Finn nods, reaching his hand out to rest comfortingly against hers on the table. “I promise, we won’t let anyone do anything to him.”_ _ _ _

“Once they realize who he is, I don’t think any of them will know _what _to do with him,” Poe adds. “But between the three of us, we can make sure he’s safe.”__

________“I think he’s quite capable of handling himself as well,” Finn points out. “I’m still bruised from the time he got me in the stomach with that battering ram of a punch he has.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______ _ _ _ _

______They have to pay a great deal of extra money to the driver taking them out of Ach-To and back to D’Qar once they inform him that they wish to leave and arrive with as much subterfuge as humanly possible. It’s difficult enough sneaking six foot something Ben out of the Inn and to the location where the driver is meeting them. Especially since Rey isn’t sure if anyone in the rather small town would recognize the long missing Ben Solo, ruining their entire plan._ _ _ _ _ _

______On the ever long ride back to D’Qar, Rey is hit with the realization of just how unprepared they are for this, Sure, they went over the plan over and over again, but none of them know if things will actually turn out the way they want them to. They have no idea what they’re doing, really. What prepares one for a situation such as this in one’s life?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Ben grabs her hand the entire time, looking incredibly perplexed by the entire journey, and Rey wonders if he remembers being in a carriage before, or if perhaps he’d never even been in one._ _ _ _ _ _

______Had he lived in Ach-To his entire life? Where is his mother? What did he want to be when he was a child? If she had met him when he was alive, would he have cared about her as much as he does now?_ _ _ _ _ _

______She has to stop herself from continuing down this path. She’s been down it before, lying awake for hours in her bed thinking these painful thoughts. It’s very much useless to think about now, especially at a time like this._ _ _ _ _ _

______It’s dark when they arrive, but the distant glow of torches lights up the darkened streets even from miles away._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Shit,” Poe curses, his eyes wide with realization, no doubt feeling as dumb as the rest of them do at forgetting about the problem they had left behind._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Ok,” Finn nods, his eyes wide with fear as he seems to rapidly search his brain for a quick solution._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Can we fix this?” Rey questions as Ben leans his head out the side window to gaze curiously at the distant angry mob._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Nope,” Poe shakes his head. “Driver!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“We’re close enough to the house,” Finn says, turning to Rey as the carriage pulls to a halt. “Stay along the sides of the buildings, in the shadows. Do you still have the key to the laboratory?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Rey nods, snatching it out of her pocket. She’s kept it carefully hidden on her person for so long now, it has become almost like a habit._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hide there. We’ll come get you once… once we manage to calm everyone down. Maybe we’ll just bring the police to the house.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“They’re not going to listen,” Rey shakes her head, her breathing becoming jagged and quick in her chest. “Finn… that boy and the man he killed… oh my God, Finn they’re going to kill him…”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Rey,” Finn speaks calmly and assertively, trying to keep her attention. “Hux is to blame here. He is responsible for Ben, for everyone who has died. Ben is scared and didn’t know what was happening to him, it wasn’t his fault-”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Do you really think those people are going to believe that?!”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Rey, you have to trust us,” Finn insists. “And you have to go. Quickly.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Her heart beating madly, feeling the sudden, sickening panic that had washed over her refuse to fade, she turns to look at Ben._ _ _ _ _ _

______He is staring at her with obvious concern at her state, his eyes narrowed as he places his arm against her back, almost like a silent question. A question if she is still with him._ _ _ _ _ _

______In a second, she has herself under control, setting her jaw determinedly, and taking his hand in hers before reaching over to throw open the door of the carriage._ _ _ _ _ _

______They are running through the small stretch of town to where the manor is, being sure to stay within the dark shadows cast by the tall buildings, stopping and ducking into whatever corridor they can find whenever they hear someone coming._ _ _ _ _ _

______Ben gets the idea of it quickly, wrapping his hands around her waist and nearly lifting her off her feet whenever they hear the distant sound of chatter or footsteps, and hiding her in any nearby alleyway, standing against her and shielding her with his body until the people have passed._ _ _ _ _ _

Rey isn’t sure how to explain to him that the idea is to hide _him _from the townsfolk and not her, but nobody notices them anyhow, so she supposes it doesn’t quite matter how they hide.__

__________The house looks quite empty when they arrive and they have to go around to the back so as not to risk anyone noticing two figures running mysteriously around the grand estate on a night like tonight when everyone ought to be out hunting down the monster apparently loose on the town._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She is careful going through the back door and entering the house, fearing for a moment that Hux might be standing there waiting for them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________But the house is dark and empty when they enter, feeling almost as if no one lives within it at all. And Hux of course would be out among the rowdy villagers hunting Ben down, no doubt wanting to be the one to find and murder him first, destroying any evidence to save his own skin._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Still gripping Ben’s hand, Rey quickly leads him running through the house, praying that there are no lingering servants, though they seem to have all been sent away for the night._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The dark stairwell leading to the basement looks even more sinister now that the rest of the house is dark as well, but sensing Ben beside her in the darkness, she isn’t as terrified as she might have been if she were venturing down into the black abyss alone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________However, Ben seems to recognize exactly where they’re going after they arrive at the door to the laboratory and Rey quickly unlocks the doors._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Ben, stop!” she cries out as he suddenly rips her away from the door, his hands crushing down on her painfully as he desperately tries pulling her back up the stairs. “Ben, look at me!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He’s still tensed and ready to bolt as he turns his head towards her, the only light coming from the cracked open door of the laboratory where there still seems to be some light glowing within._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The strange shadows make him look slightly terrifying, Rey notices, but she doesn’t relent, pulling her hands away from his easing grip to reach up and touch along his scarred face._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“We have to hide down here just for a little while,” she explains to him, her eyes relaxed and calm in an attempt to show him that everything will be ok. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again. You have to _trust _me, Ben.”__

____________She feels sick at how terrified this must make him. But they have no other choice at the moment. And he somehow understands that._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He moves slowly and fearfully through the doors into the room that has been his cell for technically as long as he can remember._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________But she is there, holding him as they walk in and she shuts and locks the doors behind them. She doesn’t make him go near anything he seems repulsed by. The examination table, the wall he had been chained to, a strange looking machine that Rey can’t determine the use of… to be honest, most of the things in here, she’s not sure she wants to ever know the use of._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________They sit in silence for the half hour or so that they remain there. Rey isn’t sure if it’s because she is so nervous, or she just wants to give Ben time to ease his mind a bit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He seems tired. She swears she sees his eyes flutter closed and his head slump over once or twice as they sit there in anxious silence, and she holds his hand in hers, gently rubbing her thumb over his skin._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Sitting here, watching him like this, she wonders what will happen to him. Surely no one will think it’s a good idea to keep a reanimated body around. What kind of life would he have? Is he even able to age? Would returning him back to his father and his old life only cause more pain for everyone?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Would it not be better to let Ben Solo rest in peace?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Before she has time to contemplate the morbid issue any longer, she is startled out of her daze once the heavy doors upstairs suddenly open and footsteps begin above them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She quickly sits up as Ben jolts awake, gazing up at the ceiling before looking over to where Rey has jumped up from her spot leaning against one of the cabinets and heads for the doors._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You stay here,” she tells him after he jumps up and tries to follow her. “I don’t know what they’ve told the police or how they will react. We might need to prepare them.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Ben looks as if he might understand, but an unsure gaze lingers in his eyes nonetheless._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You’ll be alright,” she assures him, anxious to get upstairs and finally start to resolve all of this. “I’ll be right back.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Rey?” he asks, his hand reaching out to touch her elbow. “You’ll be… safe?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Yes, I’m perfectly safe,” she grins with amusement. “I’ll be back here in a moment.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Reaching her hand out one more time to stroke along the side of his face, she leans forward, her heart alight with hope that things might actually turn out alright. She plants a kiss on his lips for just a second before turning back towards the doors and stepping out into the dark basement._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She closes the doors to the laboratory, but decides not to lock Ben in, knowing she will only be back in seconds most likely._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Her feet carry her practically flying up the stairs, back up to the house where a few of the lamps seem to have been lit._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Poe?” she calls out as she steps out onto the fine carpet, surprised to see no one by the front doors, or even in the hallway. “Finn?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The ringing silence almost startles her. She had been positive she’d heard the door open… _footsteps…_

______________“Oh, Miss Palpatine,” a voice sighs from above her, making her heart jump as she spins around to face the staircase where someone is lounging casually. “From the day you arrived here, I knew you were far too dense to be any wife of mine.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________From where he is now standing, about ten steps above her, Hux seems to loom over her, his eyes glinting with surprising joy and ease, like a predator electing to take it’s time with its prey._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She should be afraid, or at least confused as to what in the hell he’s doing back here. Did he know they had returned? Had he been watching them, or watching the house, knowing they would bring Ben back here?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Instead, nothing emanates from her but hot, burning, anger and the deep desire to curl her hands around the neck of this sickening man._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“You’ve lost,” she informs him, nothing left of the timid, polite timbre of her voice the first time she had greeted him whilst they were in this similar position. “Finn and Poe have informed the police of what you’ve done. They’ll be here any minute.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hux is either unsurprised, or unbothered by this news, as he doesn’t change an inch of his casual stare, instead slowly sauntering down the stairway towards her, obviously in no rush._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Something about how unbothered he is makes her all the more hateful. She wants to see him enraged, terrified, struck with horror at his failure._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“You murdered Ben Solo. You brought his body back to life. You tortured him. You made everyone think he is a heartless, brutal monster, because you forced him to be. _You’re _a monster.”__

________________Despite how spiteful she tries to sound, despite how much hatred she feels running through her, directed towards him, he acts as if he hears nothing at all. He just keeps inching closer and closer, down the steps toward where she remains standing stubbornly, still with that vacant, unperturbed expression._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________As he gets closer to her and she can see his eyes more clearly, it begins to disturb her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“You can’t get away with this,” she warns, still keeping her voice strong even as she slowly starts to back away once he has made it down the stairs and is a couple feet from her. “I won’t let you. I’ll tell them everything I know.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

She wants him to curse her. To demand that she not speak a word of what she knows, to threaten her, or… _something _.__

But he still does _nothing _.__

_______________________“Everyone will know what you’ve done,” she continues, her breath unintentionally catching a bit as her back hits up against the wall. “We’ve been to Ach-To. None of us will defend you. And there’s no way for you to bring us all down with you. Not anymore.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________It’s silent for just a few seconds once Hux stops advancing towards her, his face inches from hers._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________His arm rears back in a flash and his fist hits the side of her face like a rock before everything sharply drops away into darkness._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Ben is so tired…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________He tries to keep his eyelids open, but they weigh down like lead. His body slumps against the table he’s been trying to keep himself propped up against once he had sunk back to the ground after Rey had left him again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________He knew this time he had to listen to her, to stay where she had told him to stay, unlike before. Because everything is going to be alright now. She promised him. She was going to help him, along with those other two men, though he’s not so sure about trusting them. They had tried to hurt him too once. But, he supposes, not as much as that other man had. That man with the cruel face and devilish eyes that Ben swears he has seen before in some forgotten nightmare._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________He tries so hard, but he can’t stay awake. His eyes keep falling away from where he attempts to keep them trained on the closed doors that will soon open to Rey and whatever help she has brought, Hopefully not more people wanting to stab him with those needles or fire those painful things into him that had felt like they bit into his flesh._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Soon he feels himself drop into a calming lull, nothing but quiet surrounding him as he lets his exhaustion finally wash over him. It may not be the most comfortable sleeping position, but he could care less._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________He doesn’t see the door open. He doesn’t see the man dragging an unconscious Rey into the room._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________Ben only senses when the man is inches from him, far too late before he can reach out and stop the rag shoved against his face followed by the strange aroma that quickly sends him shooting back into a dark, numb abyss._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	15. Chapter 15

_Oh God… what happened to my head? ___

__The only thing Rey is aware of as she begins fading back into consciousness, is the fact that the side of her face and head feel as if they’ve been slammed against a boulder. There is no doubt some swelling. The entire half of her face must be numb because she can’t even move it._ _

_I can’t move at all…_

Her brain works to pull itself out of whatever slumber she had been in, while her limbs work to sit herself up, or stretch, or just _move _.__

___________But she’s frozen._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______No… not frozen… stuck to something. Something is clamping down on her arms, her wrists, her legs. Everywhere._ _ _ _ _ _

______There’s sound. Movement._ _ _ _ _ _

______The muffled noise of something whirring, and then something clanging. Close to her… at first it makes her ears ring rather annoyingly._ _ _ _ _ _

_Oh, can’t you just let me sleep…_

__________No. She needs to wake up. Finn, Poe, Hux… Ben._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey forces her eyes open, and is hit by a blurred swirl of bright light that makes the tendons in her eyes sting. But she keeps them open, her teeth beginning to grit in effort as she forces herself awake, her vision slowly coming into focus, and the sounds around her gradually becoming clearer._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The whirring is from a machine. Some kind of contraption very close to her. Close to the table she’s currently lying on._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Blinking her eyes open further, she finds she’s able to at least lift her head up, enough to look down at herself and see that she is strapped down to some kind of examination table. Devoid of her dress, she also notes in revulsion._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She’s startled again by the loud clanging noise, coming from somewhere off to her other side._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________There is someone beside her. Someone chained down to a different table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________As all of her senses finally surface back, she finds herself staring into the eyes of Ben Solo._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He’s turning towards her, at least as much as he can, desperation in his eyes as he struggles against the chains holding him to the table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey’s eyes widen and her heart begins to pound within her chest as she stares at their surroundings, everything finally sinking back in._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________The laboratory looks different now. The candles lighting it send a fiery, hellish glow throughout the room, causing the various equipment to twist out grotesque looking shadows that dance along the stone walls._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Ah, glad to see you’re awake, Miss Palpatine,” she hears Hux’s voice rise out from the other side of where she lies on the table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She turns her head to see him not far from her, a table of various tools in front of him, the orange light in the room making him look all the more evil._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He looks as she always imagined him to look. Surrounded by what he knows, engulfed in his element, unaffected by anything else outside of whatever world brilliant scientists and doctors have within their own heads._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Unfortunately, Rey has gotten a pretty good idea of the scene inside Armitage Hux’s head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I’ve already explained to our dear Ben Solo here what your fates are to be,” he muses, raising some kind of syringe upward to eye it carefully as he fills the small tube. “So I for one, think it would be a tremendous waste of time for me to go over it again, don’t you, my love? So you’ll forgive me if I simply proceed?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey pulls at the straps holding her down, grunting ragefully as she uses every ounce of strength she can, but they don’t budge an inch. They don’t even rattle the way the chains Ben is dealing with do._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Hux smiles, an unhinged, eerie grin as he lowers the syringe and gazes over at Rey._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Then again, what kind of fiancé would I be to deny my lovely bride an explanation of what is to happen to her and her… lover? Is that the term I should use?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey scowls at him as he chuckles to himself, gazing back down at his work._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“You know, you seemed so intent earlier about telling me how the authorities and the public would be so against me once you revealed my misdeeds. But how might they view you, sweet Rey, if they learned you have fallen in love with a deceased, rotted corpse?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She growls as she jerks herself against the table, her hands curled into fists as Hux shakes his head to himself, as if he were imagining something amusing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“I think the witch hunt might be after you two if I were to reveal the truth, don’t you think?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________He shrugs, grabbing up one of the many needles he has laid out before him, seeming absolutely oblivious to Rey’s seething as he begins to approach her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“But enough wasting time on things that might have been. That is quite a useless endeavor. Perhaps you would be appreciative if I explained what is going to happen to you?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She screams in surprise when he suddenly jabs the needle into her arm as if he were stabbing at some bothersome insect._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Ben roars with outrage as the chains once again ring loudly as he jerks against them, and Rey tries looking down at her arm, her chest heaving with fright as she feels something extremely cold spreading through her veins._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“You see, I learned quite a bit during my time with your little boyfriend,” Hux explains gleefully as he returns to the table he had been working at. “It may have taken many man hours on my part, and much unimaginable pain on his part, but I am pleased to say the outcome has produced most desirable results.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey suddenly feels as if her heart has even frozen, her body now rigid against whatever inner ice that has settled over within her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I noticed you tried very hard to stitch up his wounds my dear, and I do thank you for that. It made it all the more easier to create more _creative _injuries for you to try and heal. For example, I’m sure he recalls the trials during which I was trying to come up with the very serum that is running through your veins at this moment. I believe I lost count of how many times I had to peel his skin away from his flesh.”__

____________“You’re a monster,” Rey hisses, her body aching against the cold, unable to fight against the restraints any longer. “You’re going to pay for this, you bastard.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Haven't we been over this before?” Hux sighs, sounding rather bored with the whole matter. “I do believe the tables have turned by this point. And I’m sorry to tell you that there is no possible way the police will listen to anything Finn and Poe have to say in a time like this.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He offers a rather sympathetic grin, his eyes still taunting her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Haven’t you heard, Miss Palpatine? We have a murderous creature on the loose. But no matter. I will soon deliver the object of their wrath. And since the entire town is out there looking for him, how long do you think it will take them to tear him limb from limb after what he did to that poor old man and that innocent little boy?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Rey’s heart lurches in horror, knowing that he is right. There is no way an angry mob will listen to reason. Once someone like Hux points them in the right direction, they will be merciless with Ben._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________And she won’t be able to help him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“He’ll kill you,” she replies, smirking as she pushes back her fears, refusing to let Hux get the best of her. Especially now, when she’s sure she’s moments away from death. “He’s stronger than you, than anyone. Your morbid experiments made sure of that when you brought him back from the dead.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I have learned ways to subdue him,” Hux answers unflinchingly as he begins preparing another syringe, carefully filling it with some unnatural looking light green liquid. “But you have nothing to worry about, dear fiancé. I will make sure he remains here to watch you die before I hand him over to be disposed of.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Rey can’t help her chest tighten in horror, even though she suspected as much. Still, hearing the confirmation of one’s death while helplessly strapped to a table is enough to send anyone panicking._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You see, dear Rey… you are going to be my next test.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Now her heart feels as if it has stopped beating entirely, and at first she is sure it is from whatever serum she had been injected with. She faintly hears Ben tearing at his chains beside her, but for a moment, everything in the world has dropped away._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Now, rest assured, you will not be around for long. I will destroy you eventually, but only after I have extracted all I want from you. There will also be far less mistakes this time,” Hux speaks, mostly to himself as he continues sharpening whatever sharp looking scalpel he picks up from the litter of them he has set out. “There will be no disobedience from you, as there was with this one.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He sharply nods his head to where Ben is still fitful against his restraints, his arms straining to reach out toward Rey, where she can’t help but stare at him, tears beginning to run down her face as she does her best to give him a reassuring look, somehow telling him she will be alright, even though she couldn’t be more scared._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“The part of your brain retaining all your memories will die off with you in just a moment,” Hux continues, looking down rather proudly at the assortment of tools he has seemed to finally organize. “Once you are reanimated, the only part of your brain that will be revived is the part that will allow you to move and speak. But you will have no will of your own. No memory of before. That will make it so much easier, don’t you think?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Rey closes her eyes, unable to look at Ben any longer as she feels her heart finally begin to break, a choking sensation filling her throat, making her unable to call out to him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I mean, really you should be thanking me. I could make your afterlife much more of a living hell if you were to remember everything from before, like your poor little Ben does.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Hux reaches down and plucks up the syringe filled with the green liquid, gazing at it briefly with a blank gaze before he begins approaching Rey once again._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“The serum running through you right now is preserving your organs,” he explains as he walks slowly towards her, cradling the syringe in his hands as if it were a prized possession. “You will be in perfect condition once you are dead. You know… I believe the most important lesson I’ve learned from all of this, is that my specialty is not bringing back bodies that have been long dead.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________He leans closer to her, grabbing the side of her face and forcing her to look at him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“I believe I am much more gifted at bringing incredibly… freshly dead bodies back to life, hm?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________Rey ignores the tears dripping from her eyes as she glares back into the eyes above her that ring with jealousy, insanity, and things Rey never wants to know of._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“You mean you’re gifted at murder,” she corrects him. “And there isn’t anyone on this planet who will think you a genius for that.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________This seems to send a flicker of something resembling anger through his eyes. At least that’s something._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________His palm suddenly jumps from where it had been placed at the side of her face to clamp around her throat, lifting and slamming her head down onto the table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________She groans in pain as her world briefly becomes dazed while Hux holds her head down._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“ _This _is what is going to kill you, love,” he hisses, bringing the needle up to her exposed neck, dragging the edge goadingly along her skin. “So why don’t you go ahead and blow your lover one last kiss, if you wish my dear.”__

______________Rey’s eyes open to see Ben, but he does not return her gaze. His eyes are away from her, his mind elsewhere as he strains relentlessly against the chains, his arms shaking as he tries prying himself off the table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Just look at me, Ben _Rey speaks silently in her mind, praying he somehow hears her._ Please just look at me one last time._

________________The crack that booms through the air makes her jerk violently against her restraints, nearly causing the needle to shove into her neck about five seconds too early._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________After she’s done reeling from the unexpected noise, Rey stares with wide, unbelieving eyes at where Ben is now sitting up on the table he had previously been chained down to just a second ago._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________He’s just as quick wrenching his wrists and his legs from the chains next, suddenly moving as if he has no trouble at all. As if the chains were nothing more than strings holding him down._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Hux hardly has time to recognize what has happened before Ben has leapt off the table, some of the chains gathered in one hand as he charges toward him, his eyes ablaze with such fury, that even Rey finds herself terrified of his advancement._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Backing away from where he had been leaning above her, Hux only has time to briefly raise one arm before Ben has slung the chains at his face, catching him on the side of the mouth and whipping his head and neck aside._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________The man stumbles back after crying out in rage, and Ben takes the opportunity to advance once more, grabbing Hux by the front of his shirt and lifting him right off his feet._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________He goes flying all the way across the room, so far that the sound of him finally crashing into whatever he landed on sounds far and distant from where Rey is._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________She turns now to see Ben standing directly above her, a look of intense determination on his face now replacing the rage._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________He leans over her, his hands gripping onto the straps starting at the top of her arms before pulling them clean off the table, tossing them behind him before doing the same to the others holding her down._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Before she can say or do anything, Ben has reached down and scooped her up in his arms, holding her close to his chest as he turns off to run towards the door of the laboratory, intent on carrying her off to safety as quickly as possible._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________But just as they are inches from the door, it bursts open all on its own._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________It is Finn and Poe who stand at the door, both looking extremely infuriated, and also painstakingly alone and without a police force to assist them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Nevertheless, the two of them seem to assess the situation very quickly from the scene they opened the doors to._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Go,” Finn commands, nodding reassuringly to Ben. “Get out of here, get somewhere safe. They’re coming.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Ben isn’t entirely sure who “they” are, but Rey is. So when he looks to her to see what to do, she gives him an urgent nod. That’s all he needs._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Finn and Poe let the doors close behind them as they step further into the laboratory, watching Hux rise from where he had apparently fallen into a large shelf of supplies._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________It’s now that Finn recognizes they maybe should have brought some weapons with them before coming down here. Since the police wouldn’t listen to them amidst all the chaos they were trying to harness down in town, they pretty much have no defenses at the moment._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Poe had been considering if there could be a way to confuse the rowdy townsfolk that Hux was the monster they were looking for so they could burn him at the stake, but the chances of that were less than slim. Even with how delusioned with anger the people are, it’s unlikely they’d mistake someone quite as popular as Hux for the drooling, hulking monster they’ve painted up in their imaginations._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Hux steadies himself, his mad eyes dancing around the laboratory until they land on the two men near the door, after which he breaks into a rather amused grin._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“Have you two come to tell me that you intend on bringing justice down on me as well?” he laughs manically. “Are my days of terrorizing over?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“You’re insane,” Finn replies, his voice surprisingly gentle sounding compared with Hux’s derailed speech. “You haven’t done all of this because you want to be a genius. You’ve done it because you’re a jealous maniac. You were intent on destroying everything you could of Ben Solo, and now anyone else who displeases you.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________“We know you’re the reason Skywalker was killed,” Poe adds, rage more audible in his voice. “You drove Ben so mad with fear, you let him murder Luke, and probably that boy and the old man that has now sent this witch hunt after him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Hux seems rather pleased with these accusations, letting out a delighted chuckle, like one would give to a foolish child._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I suppose that shows how much you two intellectuals can figure out on your own,” he replies, still laughing psychotically. “I killed Skywalker myself, you imbeciles. That bastard had it coming the moment he decided to deny me what was rightfully mine. What I _earned _.”__

__________________Finn feels his heart beat faster as realization crashes down upon the both of them, realization of something they should have put together a long time ago._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“You only made it look like Ben was a killer,” Poe sighs in horrified disbelief, his tone of voice much quieter now. “You were the one who kept leaving the doors unlocked, hoping each of us would go down there one by one. You killed the old man and the little boy just to turn the town against him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“With pleasure,” Hux shrugs, as if the two murders were merely a small matter. Unimportant. “It was you geniuses who decided Ben Solo was the one who killed Skywalker. Honestly, I was surprised you bought it so unquestioningly. I’m sure the only reason that miserable brute was standing over him the way he was was because the two of them were incredibly… close, when dear Ben was still alive.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Finn can tell that even as Hux tries to speak carelessly, there is deep hatred that burns behind his eyes as he tells them this._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Of course. Luke had been kind to Ben during his time at the University. That’s why he had been so distraught to find him dead, why Finn had found him covered in the dead professor’s blood. He was probably trying to help him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Finn wants to scream. He wants to demand answers. He wants Hux to explain why he ever brought him into this appalling personal tirade._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________But he is done talking to the man._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Instead, he lunges forward, propelling himself several feet forward until he crashes against Hux’s body, tackling him to the ground._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Finn doesn’t know the first thing about fighting, but damn it if he won’t try to strangle the life out of the man beneath him right now. And that’s exactly what he attempts to do, struggling to get his hands around the man’s neck, but he misses the object Hux had been gripping in his hand once he had gotten up from the shelf he had crashed into._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He feels a biting sting in his side as Hux shoves a broken piece of glass into the side of his ribs, ceasing his attack immediately as he gasps in pain and falls off to the side._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“You were always quite too narrow visioned for my taste, Finn,” Hux mutters as he crawls up onto his knees while Finn lays bleeding beside him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Before he can bring the bloodied shard of glass down into him again, Poe grabs him by the wrist, wrenching the makeshift weapon out of his hand before hauling him up and landing a solid punch to his face._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Poe is certainly a more graceful fighter than Finn. He’s able to keep himself up purely on anger for the first minute or so. Everyone hit he throws lands somewhere, though Poe is praying he will feel bones crack under his fists eventually._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He’s able to force Hux back further and further until he has him against the wall, the man’s face a bloody mess by now, but still grinning that unhinged looking smile that sets Poe’s teeth on edge._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Any camaraderie he ever felt towards this man has been easily wiped away as if it never existed. Poe was no fool. He always knew Hux found him rather bothersome, but he at least always thought the man might be decent at heart, considering his admirable lineage and impressive goals._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________But now, the only thing Poe wants to do to this man is knock his teeth out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________But Hux is calm, focused, while Poe is frantic and hateful, taking every bit of his energy, and giving his opponent the perfect opportunity to strike._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Poe makes a courageous move that leaves his neck unprotected from Hux’s sudden jab that sends him stumbling back, and Hux free to step out of the corner he had become backed into._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Hux suddenly moves as fast as lightning, his arms reaching out and locking around Poe’s neck, twisting him around before slamming his head against a nearby metal vat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________He walks briskly out of the laboratory, ignoring the small flame that had ignited as a result of some of the chemicals being splashed onto the wrong equipment, leaving the two men incapacitated on the floor._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all your amazing comments and everyone who has stuck with this story and series! The next story will be here in October :D

Ben had halted in his tracks after stepping out the front door and seeing a wave of fire coming towards the house. At least, that’s what he thinks it is at first. All he can see is valleys of blood orange flames flickering out at him from the distance, floating in the direction of the where he stands, holding Rey in his arms.

But she quickly recognizes the terror that is slowly creeping towards them.

“Ben,” she speaks, her voice a quiet gasp as she gazes with horror at the fire marching toward them. “ _Run _.”__

__He doesn’t need any more direction than that. The sea of frightening looking flames was enough to set him on edge, so Rey’s direction is taken without hesitation._ _

__However, he realizes he isn’t quite knowledgeable about the landscape surrounding him. He doesn’t want to go back into the awful house where the dungeon is and that evil man who wants to hurt him._ _

__Who was hurting Rey…_ _

__No. He has to get her away._ _

__As he turns back towards the house, staring up at the stone structures and vines that crawl up the walls, Ben can hear a hum of what sounds like voices shouting somewhere from the distance._ _

__Rey grapples onto him tighter when he suddenly throws her over his shoulder and begins hauling himself up the wall, watching the shadows dance across the stone from the ocean of torches rolling in behind them._ _

__Glancing back down at the quickly approaching mob, Rey prays that she and Ben somehow remain hidden within the cover of vines and various, exorbitant statues that decorate the walls as Ben scales the incredibly towering manor._ _

__They reach the rooftops in a surprisingly short amount of time, due to Ben’s hidden talent of navigating seemingly impossible barriers._ _

__Once he steps onto a flat surface, he lifts Rey from his back and lays her in his arms again, glancing around to try and find a place where they aren’t so exposed._ _

__As Rey looks around at the strange landscape, she sees the rooftop of the house is much like an extremely dangerous looking maze, where the walkways are thin, and stepping off the path will lead to crashing several stories back to the ground._ _

__As if sensing her thoughts, Ben’s hands tighten around her comfortingly._ _

__He steps carefully around the stone walkway, twisting his way around the multiple statues and gargoyles that stand, almost forebodingly around them._ _

__It’s eerily silent, and Rey half expects to suddenly hear thunder rumble across the sky and rain to start pelting down. But everything remains quiet and still, not even a breath of wind curling through the empty night air as Ben slowly grazes along the surprisingly crowded rooftop._ _

__It’s a good thing he happened to be near one of the large statues when the balcony doors below them suddenly burst open, or else Ben might have leaped back right off the roof._ _

__Rey even lets out a shriek of surprise when the glass doors smash against the house, nearly swinging off their hinges and cracking a bit against the stone._ _

__Hux crawls out onto the small balcony, reaching a hand out to grasp a curved piece of cement holding a gargoyle that he uses as a lever to swing himself right up onto the roof, planting himself right in front of where Ben is standing._ _

__He holds a pistol in his hand as he blocks their way, Ben quickly looking around to see there is no safe way they can run from him, at least not without risking him dropping Rey or losing his own footing._ _

__Rey quickly twists herself out of Ben’s hold, steadying herself on her own feet, though Ben still keeps his arms around her, terrified of her falling into this evil man’s hands again._ _

__“You won’t get away,” he informs them, his voice cracked with fury, insanity as his mad eyes gaze with a sick mixture of excitement and hate. “There is no way out of this, Rey. You must know this.”_ _

__“You’re insane!” Rey screams at him, feeling herself become blinded with rage. “There’s no way you will get away with this!”_ _

“No one will ever know of anything that has happened here,” he answers back, his shoulders beginning to shake as his teeth grind furiously. “I am innocent. And Ben Solo deserves _everything _he got.”__

______Ben doesn’t speak a word. He can’t. Standing here, staring at this wretched man he knows nothing about, except for how much he enjoyed hurting him, Ben finds himself feeling a strange sensation, deep in his heart that ceases his throat from working._ _ _ _ _ _

____His breath is halted. Blood pounds in his ears. He is stricken by the image of this man standing in front of them, his orange hair frazzled and out of place, his clothes a ragged mess, his eyes glinting with things too horrible to even consider._ _ _ _

____And then he remembers._ _ _ _

____ _ _

_Ben Solo had known not long after meeting Armitage Hux, that they would not get along well. It seemed Hux didn’t get along well with anyone. He seemed to hate the professors, and sought to scorn and defy them every chance he got. And as for the other students, he seemed to look at each and every one of them as a threat that needed to be removed in order for him to be satisfied._

_Perhaps it was foolish of Ben to hope he could get through the class without coming into contact with Hux the way he’d seen other men had, resulting in a bitter rivalry that would always interfere with studies. The only reason Ben had been able to get into a University as prestigious as this is because he had surpassed all his previous classmates, and he also had a generous amount of money his mother had left him for his education. He knew how lucky he was to be here, and he wasn’t about to be thrown out because he let someone as irritating as Hux get to him._

_He loved the University. He loved the challenge, the excitement of getting closer to the life he always wanted to have, to the man he longed to become. Luke, his uncle, had helped him so much along the way, though allowed his talents to speak for themselves, which thankfully killed any rumors that Ben only made it to the top of all his classes because he had a family member in the staff._

_But trouble became inevitable. Ben rose to the top of the class, right next to Hux’s spot. Hux may have been an unruly and arrogant man, but no one could deny his immense intelligence. They were neck and neck. Ben had sensed how livid it had made Hux that someone so young, someone who should have been in far less advanced courses, was right at his level. Being a favorite of Professor Skywalker’s had also ignited a maddened jealousy in Hux that ended any chance of Ben somehow convincing the man that they needn’t be adversaries._

_He tried to ignore it at first. He tried to go about his studies without engaging in such a ridiculous rivalry. But it grew everyday, and soon, Ben hardly bothered to try and manage it. He simply saw it as another goal: be better than Hux. Get to the top of the class._

_He had been the first one to argue against Hux’s absurd, unethical ideas of bringing bodies back from the dead. He had been the one to prove that Hux’s research had been careless and flawed. It was his testimony that had convinced the board of professors that this was not an experiment to pursue._

_Ben had wondered if he had gone too far, but he couldn’t help but raise some kind of protest at such a dangerous idea. Really, it had nothing to do with the ongoing rivalry. It didn’t raise his rank in the class, and it didn’t get Hux thrown out._

_It was Hux’s own wrath and outrage that did that job._

_He hadn’t really thought much of Hux after he was thrown out for his deplorable behavior towards the professors who had denied him continuation of his research. Perhaps it was naive of him to go on with his life as if he never knew the man. Maybe he should have been smart enough to realize it wasn’t something one would just sweep under the rug._

_Ben often would have to walk home alone late at night, long after the sun had set and the village-like town had gone to bed. He liked to stay late and get all of his work done so that when he got home, he could just eat and rest. Han was far from the greatest cook, but he always had some kind of sandwich thrown together for him when he arrived back home, which was certainly well enough for him._

_It had been a relatively normal night. Just like any other. He had been staying late more and more now as he grew closer and closer to his final year, his final tests before he could finally graduate. There was much work and studying to be done, and he wasn’t about to let himself slack off on any of it. He already felt antsy still being in school and not out there doing his own work._

_He hadn’t been paying attention as he strolled down past the various empty alleyways, his thoughts completely within his own mind, until something suddenly zoomed out from a shadowed corridor, crashing into him so hard, he found himself colliding against the stone wall he had been walking alongside._

_His head must have cracked against the wall, because the next thing he knew, he was laying on the ground, his vision swimming as he stared up at the sky, feeling someone grabbing his legs and pulling him out of the street, away from the hope of anyone glancing out their window and seeing him being attacked, until he is surrounded by the, now eerie shadow of a darkened alley._

_Concussion, he had thought to himself as his head ached with a pulsing pain in his temples, and the world around him seemed to tilt back and forth._

_It had taken him a while to focus in on the figure above him, who knelt at his side, seeming to fish through a bag he had with him, taking out an array of items Ben couldn’t make out._

_He could, however, make out the eyes that glinted in the moonlight of the figure kneeling above him._

_Hux didn’t speak to him as he was going about whatever it was he was doing. From the looks of it, once Ben could finally focus his vision somewhat, it seemed as if the man were loading some kind of syringe._

_Ben hadn’t seen Hux in months. It had been so long ago when he had been thrown out of the University, he had thought the man surely had gone back to D’Qar to pursue another endeavor._

_Before he could ask why Hux is here, before he could ask what he wants, why he is doing this, Ben felt a needle suddenly stick into his neck, making him gasp and wince in pain as something cold was injected into him._

_“This serum is quite experimental, so I suppose we’ll have to wait and see if it works the way it should,” Hux finally spoke, more to himself than to Ben as he pulled the needle away from his neck to stare at it thoughtfully. “Then again, if anything should go wrong, I will have plenty of time to cut my way through my brand new toy to see how I can perfect everything, won’t I?”_

_He didn't know what the man was talking about, and wondered hopefully if this was some strange nightmare, that he had fallen asleep at his desk in the classroom back at the school._

_“I know I should be enraged at you, Solo,” Hux continued, reaching down to grasp the other item he had laid out beside him. “But to be fair, your arrogant, disgraceful existence has merely provided me with exactly what I needed.”_

_The man brought forth a long, shiny bladed object that flickered briefly in the moonlight as he raised it briefly._

_Ben felt his limbs, his muscles shivering uncontrollably, and at first he thought it was in fear, but he soon realized it was from whatever frigid serum that had been injected into him and was now spreading throughout his body, paralyzing him._

_Hux leaned forward, bringing the knife to Ben’s neck._

_“I’d love to linger and chat, but I’m afraid there isn’t much time. We have an incredibly long trip back to D’Qar, and we’ll need to get started as soon as possible.”_

_That was all he had said. The last words Ben would ever hear. He couldn’t fight back. He couldn’t even scream for help. He could only lie there._

_Strangely, he didn’t think much of himself once he felt the blade of the knife slice across his throat. He didn’t mourn the fact that his life had been so suddenly and carelessly cut short, he didn’t rage over the fact that he still had so much he wanted to do, so much he hadn’t experienced yet. He didn’t even fear the cold, unforgiving darkness of death._

_Instead, the last thought that had lingered in his mind in the final seconds of his life, was of his father._

_His father, who Ben now knew would be sitting alone in their little house on the hill away from the village, waiting all night for him to return home. Staring at a door that would never open. Sitting beside a plate of food that would never be eaten._

_This was what had pained his heart as he slipped away, wishing he could at least tell Han that he loved him, that he hadn’t been so much scared, but rather sorry in his last moment on Earth._

_________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______Ben touches the deep scar that runs along his neck as he remembers everything from his past life, every moment, every feeling, every place he had ever been, every person he had ever known._ _ _ _ _ _

______He sees the same man standing before him and Rey now. The same man that had taken his life that night. The man that had taken everything from him, purely out of jealousy and an obsessive need to play God._ _ _ _ _ _

______A man who is still trying to take away the last thing Ben has, the only person who loves him now in his monstrous, misshapen, hell-like afterlife that he has been forced into._ _ _ _ _ _

______Rage, sadness, pain, hate… Ben feels all of it coursing through him now._ _ _ _ _ _

______Why? Why had it taken him so long to remember?_ _ _ _ _ _

______Blinded and overcome by madness, Ben feels a pained, sorrowful, yet furious growl rip through his chest as he lunges at Hux._ _ _ _ _ _

______The man doesn’t have time to even raise his arms in defense before Ben has tackled him down onto the tower of what must be one of the bedrooms. The pistol drops out of his hand while Ben claws at his throat, his nails digging into the man’s skin until he feels warm blood seep out from his neck._ _ _ _ _ _

______Crashing comes from below them, loud, booming sounds followed by flickering light that Ben recognizes as fire coming from the laboratory, but he hardly feels the need to worry about it now._ _ _ _ _ _

“ _Why?! _” he growls, slamming Hux’s head into the stone of the tower shaped roof, not really caring if the man answers him or not. “Why did you do this to me?!”__

__________Hux can only choke and sputter against the iron grip around his throat._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Rey stands still where Ben had left her, gaping in shock as she hears him speak with more power than she’s ever heard him before._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Rey…_

He wants to tell her, he _needs _to tell her, that he remembers. He remembers everything, about himself, about Ach-To, about all of it.__

_________________He becomes so overwhelmed so suddenly, his grip loosens on Hux’s neck, giving the man an opportunity to kick him square in the stomach, leveraging himself against the tower and sending Ben nearly stumbling back over the edge of the roof._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Ben!” Rey exclaims, rushing towards him, though he’s able to steady himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She leaps back when Hux pulls something out of the pocket of his coat, some sort of bottle that he doesn’t give either of them time to study before opening it and throwing the contents towards Ben._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He rears back as he feels whatever liquid that was in the bottle drench him, half expecting to feel his skin start melting off once it touches him, but he feels nothing immediately alarming._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hux then takes something else out of his coat, reaching back and cracking it against the stone before throwing it at Ben as well._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He hardly has time to realize the object Hux had struck against the stone had suddenly ignited in a small flame before realizing his entire body has become engulfed in the hellish inferno._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Rey screams as Ben falls to the ground, his body alight with flames that crawl over every inch where the liquid had touched him. He rolls about on the ground, chilling screams filling the air as the fire tears at his clothes, his skin._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hux snatches his pistol up from where it had fallen. Rey runs forward as Ben squirms against the ground while Hux takes steady aim, pulling the trigger._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She feels the bullet tear into her chest, feeling like a hot iron pressed against her flesh. Fire rips through her body as the bullet goes all the way through her chest, and the cloth serving as her underdress suddenly becomes soaked in her blood._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben feels as if he’s drowning. His world is nothing but twisted, angry streaks of yellow and orange that feel like claws against his arms and chest and torso, biting at his skin as he tries desperately to put the flames out, flailing about on the ground like a fish out of water, praying he doesn’t roll of the roof in his thrashing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The flames do finally subside, he manages to stop their spread before they reach his face thankfully, though the smoke and the lingering heat still force their way down his throat, making his chest heave._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He rolls onto his side, delirious as his eyes search madly around him, He rises to his hands and knees, blinking away the stinging in his eyes as he looks for Hux. For Rey._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________She’s laying only a few feet from him. She had been running towards him, to help him. But now…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben feels an inhuman ache in his heart when he sees the scarlet staining the fabric covering her breast, flowing freely from a wound in her chest that goes out through her back._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hux stands above her, the pistol in his hand, pointed towards her as she struggles to move, but can do nothing except lie against the unforgiving surface of the rooftop, waiting for the gun to go off one more time._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben rises, blinded by torment, ignoring the way his body and mind howl in agony as he stands. His gaze is focused on the man towering above the woman he loves. The man who has destroyed him. The reason for this nightmare of suffering._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Hux doesn’t seem to even see him coming, perhaps thinking him dead as he centers his attention on Rey, who is now fighting with every fiber of strength she has left to crawl away from the man before he can fire._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben arrives before he can, stepping in front of him so that the gun is now pointed at his chest._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________But Hux is too stunned to fire._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Now standing before him like this, Ben can see something more human in Hux’s eyes. Perhaps the first truly human thing he’s ever seen in the man as long as he’s known him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It’s fear. Which is perhaps fitting, given all the terror he has inflicted on others in his life. But there is also knowing in his eyes. The assurance of what is about to happen to him, that he can do nothing to stop it now._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben’s arm raises slowly and quite casually at first, as if he were merely reaching for something. Or maybe offering the man before him his hand. But his fist punching through Hux’s chest is quick and ferocious, done with a precision that would have frightened a human Ben Solo, but doesn’t make this Ben Solo flinch in the slightest._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Like during his own death, Ben doesn’t think of himself during Hux’s death. He thinks of his father. Of Luke. Rey. The little boy and the old man who Ben would never know. Every person whose life was destroyed because of this man._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The two men are still for an instant, Ben’s arm impaled through Hux’s chest, his hand gripping the man’s heart in his fist._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He holds the man’s gaze steadily the entire time, until he finally yanks his blood soaked arm back, sending Hux stumbling back, his mouth open, but no sound coming forth, his eyes wide, almost as if in disbelief that his life has ended so quickly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben almost wanted to tell him that he knows the feeling quite well._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________One final nudge from his foot sends Hux’s body falling over the edge of the roof and down to the ground below._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben drops the organ he had still been gripping in his hand down onto the ground with a careless plop._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He turns to Rey, who has managed to half climb up a nearby tower, leaning against it as she tries wrapping her arms around the thing to hold her up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben rushes to her side, his heart racing madly as he takes her in his arms, his tear-filled eyes upon the dire wound in her chest that is still bleeding unstoppably._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________But when he looks helplessly into her eyes, not knowing what he is going to say or how he can help her, she just smiles._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Her eyes aren’t filled with fear or pain or pleading. They ring with the same kindness and warmth that have been there for him since she first came down to see him in the laboratory. When she gave him food and water. When she helped heal his wounds. When she offered caring and understanding rather than hatred and dread._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Something crashes loudly below them, and the roof seems to suddenly jerk, making Ben nearly stumble, holding Rey close to him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The fire from the basement has grown._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Looking down and around them, Ben sees that he had been so caught up with their struggle that he had failed to notice the entire house had begun burning around them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________The walls have begun shuddering, equipment and machines explode and shoot out through the ceiling of the laboratory, spreading an angry sea of flames through the inside of the house._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Windows shatter, chunks of the stone walls crumble to pieces as the basement practically blows up beneath it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben desperately runs to each edge of the roof, looking for a way down, but there is nothing. Nothing that can ensure he will be able to climb down safely without a burst of flame jutting out a nearby window or the wall suddenly collapsing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He doesn’t even have time to stop and think, to plan some other route of escape, or maybe even to apologize to Rey, before another jolt through the house makes him stumble back, crashing against one of the windows._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________It shatters underneath him, and before he knows it, he and Rey are sent careening down through the window and into the flaming house._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________He holds her tight against him as they fall, unsure if this is their last few seconds._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Rey is sure she passed out momentarily after they landed against something hard inside the house. Whatever it is, it is made of wood and broke into pieces as well once they landed on it._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Ben took most of the force, but Rey still had felt a shudder course through her once they collided with whatever table or dresser that had fallen on top of._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Once Rey disorientingly opens her eyes, hearing the muffled sound of the house being destroyed around her, she turns her head to see Ben laying beside her, his arms still locked securely around her form, but his head tossed back against the shattered wood, his eyes closed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Her chest has numbed to a dull ache, and she knows life is leaving her, but she forces herself to nudge against Ben, desperate to wake him up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________His eyes blink open, staring straight above at first, before he too turns his head and looks down at her._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Again she smiles at him, though this time there is a much more somber tone to it, even more so than moments ago. She wants him to know that she is ok, that none of this, not a single moment of it has been his fault. That, on the contrary, despite the situation they find themselves in now, Ben Solo had saved her life in every way one could think of._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________But there is so little time to tell him all of that now. All Rey can think to do in this moment is rejoice in the fact that Ben had at least remembered himself, Who he was, his life before. He remembered that he was born a good man, not a monster._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

“I love you, Ben,” she tells him, touching her hand to his cheek as he looks down at her with the same content look in his eyes. _I’m here with you _she tells him with her eyes._ Please don’t be afraid _.__

“I love you, Rey,” he speaks, sounding more clear and sure than she has ever heard him before. _I’m with you too, my love _he tells her silently._ I’ve always been with you _.__

______________________They hold each other, Rey not wanting to let go of his stare. But as she feels the heat growing closer quickly, and the walls shuddering and falling around them, she pushes herself closer against him, her head nestled against his neck as his hand goes to rest against her head._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________They stay like that, holding each other close, their arms curled protectively around each other as they are engulfed by the flaming, collapsing house that finally encloses them._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Finn had awoken to the feeling of someone dragging him quite quickly and quite painfully through the laboratory. After opening his eyes to a bright and incredibly hot room melting away before him, he heard Poe kicking down the back doors to the basement, before dragging him the rest of the way outside into the blissfully clear air._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________It had taken the two of them some time to realize that Rey and Ben must still be somewhere inside the house once they went out around the front to see that the angry mob of townsfolk had come to the house, demanding bloodshed. Finn wasn’t even sure if it was Ben they wanted, or if they had somehow finally figured out that Hux was the culprit. Honestly, he didn’t really care. Because all he wanted to do was get Rey and Ben out._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________But it was far too late._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Even once the fire brigade had arrived, the Hux manor had been nearly utterly destroyed. Finn supposed the machinery and chemicals filling the laboratory below the structure contributed quite a bit to the fast destruction of the entire mansion. Now that he thinks about it, fire hazards were something he and Hux foolishly never considered to take into account._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Even as he had screamed and kicked and struggled against Poe’s grip holding him back from running into the flaming house, he knew there was no way he would be able to get his friends out. All he could do, all any of them could do, was sit and watch the manor burn._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Now, he stands still, in the same spot he’s been in for hours._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Everyone has left, even the mob got bored, having concluded that the killer they’d been hunting must have burned in the fire._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________The fire workers had put out the fire, but all that remained was a small skeleton of the structure of the house. The rest was rubble and ash._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Finn had waited, hardly breathing as the workers had dug about the structure, mowing over layers of wreckage, trying to find the two people that Poe had informed them had still been in the house as it burned._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________But all that was turned up was the body of Armitage Hux, just outside the building, only covered by a layer or so of debris that had fallen on him._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________They hauled him away to the morgue, and soon, the workers packed up their equipment and set off themselves. There was simply nothing more that could be done._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Now, the air is eerily silent as Finn stands before the remains of the house, staring deeply into the large pile of ash and ruins, as if he could somehow will his friends back to life._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Wherever they are, they must have been entombed miles beneath the surface, burying them deep into the ground. A morbid grave as a final resting place._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Poe had been milling about, kicking things here and there, barely enough energy to be angry. Instead, Finn thought something seemed to be taken from Poe. Some spark that had given them all hope for that brief twenty four hours when they had thought they were going to fix everything so easily._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Now, there is nothing. A hollow emptiness that neither of them know how to fix._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“We should go,” Poe calls out to him, after making his millionth circle around the crumbled mansion. “It’s nearly dawn. You need rest.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Finn doesn’t answer, even as Poe walks closer to him, close enough to reach out and place a comforting hand against his back._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“We both do,” he adds._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________Finally, Finn is able to move, shaking his head in denial, in fury._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“No,” he speaks, his voice alight with determination that he thought he’d lost._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“Finn… they’re gone,” Poe speaks, his own voice broken with distress. “We have to go.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_No… it can’t be. They’re not dead…_

________________________He wishes he could react normally. He wishes he could begin grieving and eventually accepting the loss of their friends. But he can’t. He feels frozen in place, like he can’t move on until…_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________“I need to _see _them, Poe,” he explains, although he’s unsure if that’s truly the solution he’s seeking. “I can’t believe it unless…”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Finn remembers once again why he loves Poe so much. He senses no judgement from the man, not even a humiliating pity that one would give a lost puppy crying for its owner._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Instead, Finn feels an unflinching understanding from him, and he knows that Poe is going to do whatever he can, give Finn all the time he needs before pressuring him to do anything else._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________“The carriage is here,” he says, looking off into the distance, but Finn doesn’t follow his gaze. “I’ll… I’ll go wait if you want to have a minute. Take as long as you need.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Finn doesn’t say anything back to him, so after waiting for a moment longer, Poe walks off to where a carriage waits that will eventually take them who knows where. Back to Alderaan, Finn supposes, to Poe’s home._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________He stares for what feels like hours, moving every now and then around the mountain of ashes, kicking aside charred fragments of what used to be furniture._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________His stare focuses on a pile of ash and rock, something lurching in his chest when he sees a rock shudder ever so slightly._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________His eyes widen and his breath stops as he gazes at the rocks that quiver again, barely even a centimeter, but at a steady rate, as if something were moving, digging beneath the surface._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________Finn waits, his shock replaced with a steadiness coursing through him as he watches the debris before him shift and sway._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________________He stands still, not daring to move, or to breathe._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_Please… please…_

____________________________A hand bursts forth from the rubble._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________________Finn smiles._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


End file.
